Sharingan Eyes
by Sholay
Summary: Team 7’s next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia? ! An unusual relationship is formed as Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha’s lives clash violently over one simple enigma: Kai’s red eyes. Beyblade and Naruto crossover or Xover. NOYAOI. AU
1. UNWITTING ASSIGNMENT:Two Worlds Collide!

**_HIYA!_**

**Author's blurb: **Gimme two all nighters, 4 cans of Pepsi and nothing to stare at except Organic Chemistry all day long and this monster is born! Now, whence did I FIND the time to type all this down if I was, in fact, studying as was aforesaid? That… is…a… secret! No, I'm not kidding! I'll never tell! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!! (Is _very _sleep deprived XP). Yeah, all that might sound a bit weird, but at the time when I wrote this note, I was in the middle of my exam week XD

**STORY NOTE! **There is **_no major romance_** in this story, hetero, yaoi, yuri or anything else in between. That's how it is folks. And the story will be taking place in the Beyblade universe, so it's mostly Team 7—Bladebreakers interaction.

**To avoid being SPOILED:** So that I can avoid any 'WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT HAPPENED! WHY?! WHY YOU EVIL—" and so on, please make sure you know at **least** the events up to **EPISODE 101 **(I don't follow the manga, but this takes place after the chuunin exams, after Sasuke's fight with Itachi but before Naruto and Sasuke fight.). THAT IS ALL. I will make **no** references to any of the various messes that occur after that, only the ones presented in my story. Oh yeah, and I made up their ages, so yeah, Sakura's younger than Sasuke, that's how it goes folks! With regards to Beyblade… Just knowing the general storylines of **Season 1 **and **Season 3** (not 2 XD) is enough. But **NOTE, **Kai's eyes are **RED** (not purple).

**To those who have no idea what NARUTO is: **It's important:YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT NARUTO TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS FIC. I've been doing my best to make sure everything is explained at some point in the fic. This includes foreign words, phrases and quirks. You might be confused at first, but keep reading and I guarantee everything will become clear.

* * *

**KEY: **

_'… Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I**_ …(italics)… **I**_**I **denote a change in language

**_I_****I**_ **…(bold)…**_ **_I_I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_:-Sharingan Eyes-: _**

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

_…_

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

**_J. Gregory Keyes_**

**_Disclaimer:_** Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-Chapter One-.,'_**

_UNWITTING ASSIGNMENT: Two Worlds Collide!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

How odd.

There was no sense to it. They did not know each other, had never even laid eyes on each other; and should have given as much interest to each other as one would to an ant crawling across a table.

And yet here they were, locked in a timeless battle of wills, neither backing down, neither willing to concede even the slightest inch to the other.

...

…Maybe it would be best to start from the beginning.

It had started as it always did… Another mission…

"AWWWW, C'MON! YOU SAID WE'D GET TO GO ON A REALLY IMPORTANT ONE THIS TIME!"

"Naruto, protecting someone _is _important."

"BUT IT'S NO FUN! C'mon Kakashi-sensei, you said you'd send us on a B-Rank mission! Why do we have to be stuck babysitting some weirdos for the next two weeks?" Naruto gesticulated wildly in the air as he spoke, wild blonde hair flying in every direction and clear blue eyes wide and shining.

"I said that?" Kakashi pulled an exaggerated look of innocence, pointing to himself in wonder. "Well… That _is_ interesting. I can't remember ever saying such a thing!" Even under the dark mask covering half his face it was obvious he was smiling.

Naruto's face turned red. "You did so!"

"Well, he didn't actually…"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto turned to the other member of his team, scandalized.

Sakura shrugged, light pink hair brushing her shoulders as she moved. She sent an idle look to the forest that surrounded them, long used to Naruto's antics. "It's true. He only said we _might_ get something more difficult… He never promised."

"But… I wanna go do something exciting!" The blond haired boy whined. "We've been stuck here for almost a month, any longer and I think I'll go crazy! And no one's ever heard of a crazy Hokage!"

"And such a gripping _loss_ that would be to the human race." A low drawl cut through the argument and both Sakura and Naruto turned to face the last member of their team. Kakashi merely glanced up, but there was a prominent twinkle in his visible eye.

A few paces away from the group, Sasuke Uchiha stood: dark eyes unamused, arms crossed and a disinterested frown on his pale features. His posture oozed boredom as he leaned sideways on a tall tree, looking deceptively unguarded.

It annoyed Naruto sometimes: that Sasuke didn't even seem to try and yet he always managed to come off looking cool.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried. "That hurts… right here!" He cried, pounding a first to the right side of his chest. "Just so you know, crazy or not, I'm still going to be Hokage! You better believe it!"

Sasuke moved then. It wasn't his arms or legs though; his body stayed incredibly still against the tree. Instead, one dark eyebrow lifted slowly, arching at him in distinct condescension.

"Oie! Whaddaya lookin' at?" Naruto barked at him.

"_Naruto_…" It was Sakura who answered him. She sighed in consternation as she adjusted the metal plated headband that held back her hair. "Your heart is on your _left_ side."

"Huh?" At first Naruto didn't get it, but then he remembered the gesture he'd made a few seconds ago… "Oh yeah…" He grinned sheepishly. "Heh, heh…"

Fluidly, Sasuke pushed off the tree and—hands in his pockets and head tilted forward—he closed his eyes and walked forward. He didn't pause, even as he passed Naruto, but the soft word that escaped Sasuke's mouth as he was next to the blond was unmistakable.

"_Dobe_."

Naruto growled and made to jump on the other ninja but Sakura held him back. "Oie! Say that to my face, why don't you? Or are ya scared? _Naa_, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke didn't say anything; he didn't have to. Standing next to Kakashi, he just turned, leaning back slightly with his hands still in his pockets and wearing the smallest, thinnest…_most infuriating_ smirk Naruto had ever seen.

Of course, with Sasuke, this smirk was nothing new.

"Ok, enough!" Kakashi pulled himself up straight and just like that, all humour and defiance left the group. Naruto relaxed within Sakura's hold and she let go of him; they both stood to attention. The smirk vanished from Sasuke's face; he didn't bother to straighten, but tilted his head vaguely to show he was listening.

"Today's mission: We will be accompanying an athletic team as their bodyguards for a few weeks…"

"Weeks?" Sakura asked, raising both eyebrows. "Why so long?"

"The threat against them is fair, even by our standards… As of yet, it is still a C-Rank, but Naruto may yet get his B-Rank assignment if we're not careful." Kakashi eyed the younger boy whose mouth had immediately broken out into a wide grin. Naruto tried to hide his smile when he realized his teacher was less than pleased with him for his reaction.

"Why? Who are they?" Naruto asked, attempting to regain some dignity. "And what type of athletes are they if they can't even look after themselves? And why do they need bodyguards now? Are they going to a competition or something?"

Surprisingly, Kakashi let out a bark of laughter. "Well, it's funny you should say that, because as a matter of fact… they're leaving for Russia in a week."

"What?!" Naruto cried

"And we're going with them."

"_WHAT?!_" This time Sakura joined in. Even Sasuke, though not verbalizing his thoughts, turned to face Kakashi fully. His obsidian eyes regarded his mentor carefully. Kakashi saw the look but didn't respond. He knew why Sasuke was looking at him like that: they had never traveled so far away from the Hidden Leaf Village of Konohagakure before, and now was a particularly strange time to start.

Konoha was only just beginning to recover from Orochimaru's disastrous invasion. With the death of their leader, the Third Hokage, and the only recent instatement of the Fifth, Godaime Tsunade, Konoha was in a very delicate state and the village's ninja were being kept close to protect the city during such a crucial time.

So why send some of the village's most promising genins away, now of all times? It wasn't in Naruto's nature to think so deeply on such things, and Sakura's curiosity would be curbed by Kakashi's assuredness… But Sasuke's suspicion was not so easily swayed. Kakashi knew it was only a matter of time until the young prodigy cornered him, demanding answers

_'Don't worry, my young student'_ Kakashi's eye softened as he returned Sasuke's look. Sensing the sudden change in demeanour, Sasuke stiffened. It was very slight, but Kakashi caught it and watched, sighing as Sasuke ripped his eyes away in favour of staring darkly at some poor bush. _'So much pain… Stubbornness and pride may shield your body Sasuke, but it's your heart that needs healing.' _

Kakashi caught sight of something foreign and dark on Sasuke's shoulder, just visible under the large collar of the t-shirt he was wearing. The Jonin's eye narrowed at the cursed seal: a dark, unsightly, bulbous parasite on Sasuke's otherwise unblemished skin. _'But someone has already broken your first barrier. You've lost your footing, you're unsure of what your future holds. I can sense you pulling away, slowly, but steadily. This trip is as much for those athletes as it is for you… Kami willing, you will discover your own strength without turning to… sin'_.

"Well, then we're off; let's go meet the Bladebreakers."

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei, you still haven't told us what sport these guys play." Sakura said softly, after a few hours of walking. They had left Konoha and were moving steadily through the wild countryside surrounding the village.

"Or anything about them at all, except that they're called the Bladebreakers. What kind of a name is that anyway? Why would anyone ever want to break a good blade? It's a waste of good weaponry." Naruto grumbled, kicking a stone further down the dirt path they were traveling along.

"All in good time, all in good time. We don't want to spoil the surprise, now do we?" Kakashi asked mildly, placing his two hands behind his head to cushion it.

"I don't get what's so great about keeping it a secret anyway. I mean, it's just a sport, right? Can't be that exciting." Naruto looked at his teacher.

Kakashi chuckled. "Believe me Naruto when I say that if I told you what they did right now, you'd never believe me."

Sasuke's ears perked up at this, but he didn't say anything, keeping his head down and his eyes closed. But though his eyes were shut, his ears were wide open. Kakashi was hiding something; he could feel it. It annoyed him that Kakashi wasn't willing to share… Though Sasuke couldn't say much; he hadn't been all that inviting with his secrets either.

As though in response to his thoughts, a sharp needle-like pain stabbed into his shoulder, piercing…burning. Sasuke grit his teeth. No. He would _not_ let the pain be master of him. _He_ was the only master of his body and he'd be damned if some pathetic... _seal_ got the best of him.

Nevertheless, he couldn't quite stop his hand from traveling up his arm to his shoulder, kneading the black mark. A curse, the heaven's seal: three tomoe, or commas, arranged in a circle. A ring of black symbols, Kakashi's own containment seal, encircled the vile thing. It felt strange under his fingers: fleshy, like some overgrown wart, with throbbing black veins spread over it like an engorged spider-web. These were the veins that—should he activate the seal—would grow, twist and claw their way over his body, devouring his mind… weakening his body.

Sasuke was no fool. The power the curse bestowed on him came with a terrible price, and he was not yet strong enough to mete his body in such a way.

Kakashi had tried, had done his best, and the seal he had placed around the curse had granted him a few weeks of peace. Wondrous peace from the crippling pain he'd been drowning in before.

… And, of course, there'd been the added benefit of learning the _Chidori_… It was a powerful technique and would serve him well, but…

_'It's not enough.'_

Sasuke opened his eyes into slits, glaring fiercely at nothing as he walked. The way Itachi had deflected the Chidori that time… with such ease, Sasuke could have still been eight years old…

_'It's not enough. I know it, I can feel it. Chidori is a ninjutsu technique dependent on the Sharingan, in which…In which Itachi supersedes me.' _It physically hurt to admit this._ 'I cannot defeat Itachi. Not as I am now, not even with Chidori… For all my training, the distance between us has not changed at all! I need more power, I **must** get stronger. I am an avenger. What good is my life if I can't even fulfill my one purpose?'_

Konoha had failed to deliver him his greatest desire. And now, Sasuke knew of only one person who would be able to give him power: power locked somewhere within this curse; _power_, which he so desperately wanted… no, _needed_…

_'Orochimaru'_

The word itself was like an ice-cube sliding down his spine. Sasuke suppressed the shiver that wanted to race over his body as memories of his last meeting with the Sannin washed over him.

He remembered how Orochimaru had caught him and his team completely off-guard in the Forest of Death… He remembered how his body had been completely paralyzed—forced to watch helplessly, unable to even defend—as the attack came…

…Orochimaru stepping through Sasuke's own fatal attack seemingly unharmed, though half his face had melted off, hanging in loose bags like a gruesome wax figuring, revealing sickly yellow eyes, with the slit-like pupils of a snake…

… Orochimaru's neck stretching impossibly in to the air, weaving and twisting before shooting straight at him…

… Drowning helplessness, fear, _shame_, closing like a vice of ice around his throat...

Then pain. Fangs, hard… long and unforgiving tore viciously into his flesh: scorching hot, burning away skin, tearing muscle. For a moment the world had frozen. Sasuke could remember the sound of his own harsh breathing, and the pounding of his blood in his ears, then the muffled sound of Orochimaru's throaty chuckle, reverberating impossibly loud in his ears. Sasuke's eyes had bulged impossibly wide and his fingers twitched spasmodically at his side. The paralysation spell had broken the second Orochimaru had buried his teeth in Sasuke's neck… but now it was a different kind of spell that held him captive.

He remembered how Orochimaru had pulled his fangs out. They had been sucked free with a wet, squelching sound—the sound of heavy boots in mud.

Then Sasuke remembered the hot, spongy feel of the Sannin's long tongue as it traced the wound, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Like acid, the saliva coated Sasuke's shoulder and neck and he couldn't move, he was frozen in pain, shock and shameful disgust as Orochimaru said the last few words—in a voice so smooth, so calm, he could have been speaking about the weather, not performing a highly advanced, deadly jutsu—activating the seal then burning it into him like a brand.

Sasuke remembered pain then…

…Pain, and darkness.

_'So weak…'_ He gritted his teeth. _'So weak, you couldn't even hold up to a little pain. What sort of a shinobi **faints**! Father would have never—'_

And Sasuke's thoughts came to an abrupt halt, as they always did whenever his deceased family was mentioned.

His memories of his family were a precious treasure that he withheld from himself as some vindictive punishment for failing to protect them. He would not think of them, not allow himself the pleasure of remembering his mother's smile, his father's rare praise. Not until he fulfilled his goal. Not until he avenged them.

He let his mind go blank, a bit like the meditation techniques he'd practiced, but he could still hear the incessant bickering of his teammates, could still feel the hard, solid earth beneath his feet. He could still sense the world around him: telling him where to walk, how to place his feet, and where not to go.

He'd always wondered about this last talent, it was not a technique he'd learned from anyone, but it was also not something he'd seen anyone else pull off. Silently, Sasuke wondered if he was unintentionally using chakra when he did it…or if it was an extension of his Sharingan…or if he was naturally sensitive. Still, it seemed somewhat… unsubstantial compared to the other techniques they learned, so Sasuke had never bothered to ask Kakashi about it. After all, who really cared if you could walk around with your eyes closed or not?

_'Uzumaki can hardly walk around with his eyes **open** let alone closed. And still, his strength…'_

And, as though on cue, a loud thud was heard as something heavy fell to the ground.

Sasuke didn't even bother to open his eyes. He just stopped and waited, a displeased look on his face; he didn't like where his thoughts had been leading him before the distraction.

"Naruto! Are you ok?" Sakura's concerned voice floated over.

"Hehe… ya, I think…" Naruto laughed.

Sasuke could practically see Sakura's expression go from doting to scolding. "Don't you ever do that again, you hear me!? At the very least, use your EYES! You should have seen that branch a mile away." Sasuke had no idea what Naruto had allegedly been doing, and didn't really care to find out.

Sasuke suppressed a snort. Sakura was right, of course, but seriously this was _Naruto_ she was taking about, his very body was a dangerous projectile… and that was when he _wasn't_ fighting.

Sasuke's eyes glinted in the light of the sun as they opened.

Lazily, with his eyelids half closed, he gazed around at the group in front of him. Naruto was climbing to his feet, with Sakura hovering over him like a hawk. Kakashi stood to the side, his nose deep into one of his sordid comic books.

This entire team was a joke. With a small sneer Sasuke turned his head to the side, watching the movements of the trees as they swayed in the wind. Naruto was a child, Sakura, a liability and Kakashi… though physically strong, was a weak leader. At first Sasuke had been pleased: finally the teacher-without-a-student, the famed copy-ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, had taken his first Genin team. Surely this man, with his high standards and mysterious talents, would be the one to teach him rare and unfound abilities… to give him the skill he needed to kill his brother…

…But oh, what a disappointment it had been so far. Kakashi turned out to be just as much a nut job as the rest of them, if not more. He always arrived late for training—whereas Sasuke was always there at least half an hour early, practicing his forms and combinations over and over—and he barely ever taught them any new techniques, just kept pushing that stupid _'teamwork'_ idiocy… It was like Kakashi had some skeletons in his cupboard that he was hiding, causing him to act this way… either that, or he simply didn't care about their advancement.

_'Itachi was **Jonin** when he was my age… And what am I? Nothing but a lowly Genin… How disgusting.'_

Sasuke couldn't help it when his mind brought him back, again, to that day in the Forest of Death. His helplessness… The feeling of Orochimaru's hot breath ghosting down his neck and spine, leaving cold goosebumps on his skin, then the sticky saliva coating his neck, crusting over… Sasuke rubbed at his neck vigorously, first with his fingers, then his nails, leaving irritated lines of red criss-crossing over the curse seal. Sasuke grit his teeth, he'd have to wash his neck later; it felt dirty.

Lost in his thoughts, Sasuke missed it when Kakashi's eyes rose to regard him silently… thoughtfully.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

The beyblade hit the bowl spinning, with a hiss of metal on metal, it took a violent turn, then another, weaving a complex pattern into the bowl. With every turn it spun faster, harder, making the movements sharper and more intricate.

Suddenly, without warning, the blade tipped and struck the dish. It lost control: spinning sideways, hitting the edge of the dish and flying into the air.

A hand flashed out and caught the blade.

Kai opened his eyes.

With a narrowed gaze, he considered the blade, only inches away from his face.

_'Overbalanced, the equilibrium is off. Side-spin, the point tip needs sharpening.'_

His eyes closed and with a flourish he returned the blade to his pocket.

"Hey! Kai!"

Three boys came into view, running across the clearing towards him.

With a barely perceptible sigh, Kai turned away. He had come here to be alone.

As Tyson, Rei and Max neared they saw Kai turn away, scarf ends trailing in the wind. Rei knew from experience that if he didn't say something immediately, Kai would disappear into the nearby trees and they would have to spend another three hours trying to track him down; really, how the guy managed to be so elusive was beyond him. So, moving quickly, the teen stepped forward and called out to the older youth.

"Hey, Kai! Wait a second! We got something to tell you!"

Thankfully, Kai's figure stopped moving. But he didn't turn and the boys were forced to run around Kai so they could face him.

"Kai, finally, there you are! We just met with Mr. Dickenson about that thing he wanted to talk to us about; where were you?!" Tyson yelled, annoyed that their captain had once again abandoned their team.

But Kai didn't respond. His arms were crossed and his head slightly lowered. His fine, angular features were schooled into a carefully unemotional look that showed disinterest and the beginning edges of mild annoyance.

However, though he didn't respond outwardly, Kai knew that the true reason for his dereliction was that he simply had not yet chosen if he wanted to blade with the Bladebreakers this year.

But he wasn't fool enough to tell _them _that.

"Mr. Dickenson wanted to talk to us about the upcoming tournament in Russia, you remember?" Max asked, his soft voice gentle in comparison to the boisterous Tyson.

Kai held back a sneer. Of course he knew about the tournament, his Grandfather had already been kind enough to send out his _'invitation'._

Kai had enjoyed sending it back… piece by pitiful piece.

Needless to say, Voltaire probably wasn't all that pleased with him at the moment… In fact, Kai could go so far as to hazard a guess that their next meeting would be less than pleasant. He didn't care. All Kai had to do was imagine the look on his Grandfather's face when he saw his little 'present' and it was enough to send him into a relatively good mood for the rest of the day.

At any rate, the Bladebreakers had been highly disturbed by the sadistic grins he had indulged in that day.

"… And that's why he's decided to send us some bodyguards." Tyson finished emphatically.

_'What?'_ Kai's eyes snapped open and he glared at Tyson.

At the sudden intense glare, Tyson flinched. Whenever Kai did that it was like his piercing eyes were burning bloody holes into him. It didn't just unsettle him, it made him downright disturbed to suddenly have the complete, undivided attention of someone who habitually ignored him.

"I-It's true!" Tyson spluttered, fearing that Kai was about the punch him in the eye at any moment. "And it wasn't my idea! Mr. Dickenson wants us to have some bodyguards just in case anything goes wrong in Russia."

"He doesn't want anything bad to happen, like two years ago." Rei, the voice of irrefutable reason, added, sending Kai a pointed look.

Kai returned it by lifting his lips arrogantly and making a low sound behind his teeth.

"Hn."

With that, he closed his eyes and took a step forward. Rei and Max parted like water before him and Kai glided past. They knew him too well to think they could stop him… or rather, they didn't know him well enough to know _how _to stop him. Either way, he had gone before anything more could be said.

"Huh, I guess it figures Kai wouldn't be too happy about this." Max looked at the spot where Kai had disappeared.

"Well, s'probably 'cause with them around he won't be able to pull all that flip-floppy stuff he's been doin' every year between us and Tala n' them." Tyson snorted.

"He probably feels like they're doing it to keep an eye on him. After all, Kai's perfectly capable of taking care of himself, as are we; why would we need bodyguards?" Rei frowned.

"Well, apparently there've been some civil fights and stuff going on… Mr. D told me." Max added the last part when he got surprised looks from his two friends. "He also said that no one's really sure about who or what's at fault for all those fights, so he thinks it'd just be safer for us to have some bodyguards. Apparently they think we might be targets… Maybe 'cause we're international representatives… and the previous World Champions."

"I see." Rei blinked. "Well, when are they getting here?"

"Sometime later in the week, I think." Max shrugged. "Mr. D didn't say much; apparently they're ninja from some Hidden Village in the North."

At this, Rei's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "You don't say…"

"Yeah…" Max looked up at Rei oddly. "Why? Have you heard of it or something?"

"I…" Rei hesitated. "…No… no, I haven't."

* * *

**__******

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-End, Chapter One_****_-.,'_**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**THIS STORY IS A TEST! **I'm putting this out there to see what kind of reaction I get. If you want this story to be continued, please, PLEASE send me a review saying so! At the moment, this story is in the bare process, skeleton phase. It could easily go either way. I need some reassurance that you guys like this and want me to continue. I have ideas, but they probably won't ever reach the paper without your help, so again, **REVIEW!**

**Adio!**

**Sholay**


	2. BEWARE THE SMOKE: Super Ninja Entrance!

**_HIYA!_**

**Author's Blurb: **Oh. My. Goodness!! 40 reviews for one chapter?! WOW! I've never gotten so many reviews for a single chapter… ever! Thank you ALL so much for taking the time to send in your thoughts and words of encouragement! They really inspired me to continue writing.

**Special Thanks! **To **Keight Ylonen, **who kindly informed me of a silly mistake I made confusing Tsunade as the 'Fourth' Hokage, when she is actually the 'Fifth'. Thanks for telling me!

**EDIT TO CHAPTER ONE: **Ok… I realized the distance Team 7 had to travel in one day to get to Tokyo was quite literally IMPOSSIBLE, even for ninjas; so I went back and changed it to a week. I also edited the dividers, 'cause they bugged me. Anyway, no really major changes, they will mostly be reiterated in this chapter.

* * *

**KEY: **

_'… Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

**_I_****I**_ …(italics)… **I**_**I **denote a change in language

**_I_****I**_ **…(bold)…**_ **_I_I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_:-Sharingan Eyes-: _**

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

_…_

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

**_J. Gregory Keyes_**

**_Disclaimer:_** Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-Chapter Two-.,'_**

_BEWARE THE SMOKE: Super Ninja Entrance!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"I think we're here." Sakura looked up from the map in her hands at the huge towering building before them. It was a week later, and Team 7 had finally reached the heart of Tokyo and their destination: the International Beyblading Association Inc. It had taken many long hours of running, and the occasional teleportation jutsu, to reach the city. Tokyo was much farther away than any of the younger members of Team 7 were used to travelling. Needless to say, they were quite sick of walking by now.

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke all gazed up at the towering skyscraper in varying amounts of awe.

It was the first time any of the three had been in a big city; and they couldn't help but stare openly at all the fast-paced, technology packed streets like stupefied tourists. Kakashi had taken great enjoyment watching his genins, humour dancing in his eyes; it wasn't often that they remained quiet for more than a few seconds put together. Unfortunately, like all good things, the silence ended all too soon.

"That's great, 'cause I'm getting _tired_ of everyone staring at us. WOULD YOU STOP THAT!" Naruto yelled at yet a random passerby, one of the many who had been sniggering and pointing at them. The man and his friends frowned at the group and quickly walked off.

"Stop that Naruto. We don't want to attract any more attention than necessary." Kakashi admonished.

"But why are they looking at us like that?" Naruto questioned throwing out his arms.

"You're reputation precedes you, _dobe_." Sasuke answered smoothly.

"Oh? Heh, heh." Naruto rubbed his nose. "Thanks! I always knew I'd be famous some…day…" Then he caught sight of the smirk on Sasuke's face and how Sakura was grinning and he realized it hadn't been a compliment.

"HEY! You… you… _teme_!" But Sasuke didn't respond to the taunt.

"Naruto, Sasuke, we are here on a _mission_. You are _not_, I repeat, **_not_**, to compromise the situation in _any way_ with your arguing. _Do you understand_?" Kakashi's voice was a sharp reprimand.

"_Hai,_ Kakashi-sensei." Naruto mumbled. _'Yes, teacher.' _There was a pause; Kakashi looked pointedly at Sasuke.

"_Hai_." Was all the raven haired boy said, looking away, surly.

They small group then entered the building and addressed the clerk at the desk.

"Excuse me miss, but can you tell me where to find a certain Mr… Dick-en-son?" Kakashi asked, pulling out a scrap of paper from his jacket and reading the name off brokenly.

"Excuse _me_." The lady responded snidely, regarding the oddly dressed group with their strange headbands, rough appearances and camping gear—they looked like thugs… or terrorists. "But who are _you_? And do you have an appointment?"

"Whaddaya mean _'Do we have an appointment?'_ Of course we do! We were invited here! Right, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto exclaimed, looking expectantly up at his teacher.

"Ah… well… hm… interesting story, that. I knew I should have paid more attention when Tsunade-sama was telling me she wanted to see me before we left… I thought she was just going to give some lecture…" Kakashi placed a finger to his covered lips thoughtfully.

"Well if you don't have an appointment, I'm afraid you're going to have to leave." The lady answered smugly.

"Now, just wait one second—!" Naruto's sentence was cut off as five burly men in black suits appeared all around them. "Oh come ON! You think _they_ can stop us!"

But before he could leap forward a hand came down on his back, grabbing his collar and yanking him backward off the ground.

"Hey!"

"We don't know that and now's not the time to find out." Kakashi said in his ear. Then louder: "Sasuke, Sakura! Now!"

Both genin nodded and just before the men could jump the group a large explosion of grey smoke came from nowhere, blocking their vision.

When they looked up again the ninja were gone.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"Now that was way too easy!"

"Naruto, _shh!_"

The four ninja were perched upside down in a dark corner of the ceiling, silently watching the group below them. They were high enough that no one had heard or seen them yet.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, these are the people we're supposed to protect?"

"It would seem so, that man fits the description."

Sasuke let his condescending eyes fall on the fat man at the other end of the room. He was so…_ white_. This was the result of the fabled America everyone was preaching about? This sweaty, weak, overweight, old man? So much for the promised land… Even so, Sasuke had thought they had too much pride to ask for help from _foreigners_.

"Interesting group, hm?" Kakashi said quietly from his left.

Indeed, it was: three Japanese kids, two boys and one girl—one of whom distinctly reminded Sasuke of Naruto in his attitude and mannerisms—in spite of his dark blueish hair—which was definitely a bad sign if they were supposed to work together.

_'Last thing I need.'_ Sasuke mentally groaned._ 'Another Uzumaki.'_

The other Japanese boy was currently engaged in telling the group the intricacies of chakra and jutsu. Sasuke was faintly impressed: from the looks of it, none of this group had ever come near a kunai, let alone having actually met a ninja. So their information must be coming directly from the computer. Sasuke hadn't known one could find that much knowledge on such a thing. Konoha was not known for its technological stamina.

Another weakness.

The girl looked like nothing special, so Sasuke let his eyes pass over her.

Next, there was yet another American, his hair even fairer than Uzumaki's: the color of fresh corn. And sprawled on an armchair was…

"A Chinese?" Sasuke's voice was low but Kakashi heard it and gave a soft chuckle.

"Looks like it, don't be too surprised, the world is changing, Sasuke. Just look at them, children, pure and innocent and of all colours, why wouldn't there be a Chinese among them?"

"He looks… different than the others." Sasuke didn't elaborate; there was something about that boy that set his teeth on edge.

"Hmm… he looks like he might have had some training: I recognize the symbol on his headband… But speaking of which…" Kakashi's voice rose at the end with mild, pleasant surprise and his eyes focused on something across the room.

Following Kakashi's eyes Sasuke saw another, very pale boy leaning against the far wall…

…And staring directly at them.

"How intriguing…" Kakashi's voice was soft, as though he was speaking to himself.

"Who is that guy?" Naruto whispered excitedly. "And how does he know where we were? He shouldn't be able to see us, not without using chakra."

"Indeed…" Kakashi answered cryptically.

But Sasuke wasn't listening. For some reason he was drawn inexplicably toward the youth. He hadn't even realized he was in the room… that was new to Sasuke; he never made such huge oversights; mistakes like that meant death when one was a ninja. But this guy had gone completely under his radar.

He was white, but with strange, dual-coloured hair that must have been fake. There were tattoos on his face that Sasuke ignored—such things were common. His features were oddly ambiguous and, with irritation, Sasuke realized he couldn't place the boy's origins. He couldn't sense chakra on the boy… so what was it about him that had caught Sasuke's attention so quickly…?

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered in his ear nervously and Sasuke shifted his eyes away—not looking directly at Sakura, instead lowering his gaze to stare at the air between them. "Look at his eyes." But when Sasuke looked back, the boy had his eyes closed and was leaning against the wall as though nothing had happened.

"His eyes…" She continued. "They're red."

Sasuke's world froze. "No…" he breathed, twisting his head to stare intently directly into her eyes, as though trying to detect the lie in her words. But her eyes—though wide, being clearly startled by his sudden attention—were guileless, completely innocent of the vital meaning her words carried. He turned back to the boy. "They couldn't have been." Sasuke had been too preoccupied in figuring out the weird vibe he'd gotten from the guy to notice the colour of his eyes… But still, they couldn't be red… that just wasn't possible.

"Looks like it's time to make our entrance." Kakashi interrupted Sasuke's thoughts with a deceptively jovial tone. The dark haired teen's eyes narrowed. The timing of Kakashi's distractive interruption was obviously deliberate. It irritated him. "Ready?" Kakashi continued, looking at each member in turn. It seemed that he lingered, just a little, on Sasuke.

Naruto and Sakura nodded. Sasuke sent one last look at the figure against the wall—whose careless pose seemed disturbingly familiar, like a forgotten memory, though Sasuke couldn't remember ever seeing anyone stand like that—and determined that the boy was just another client, an annoying child who thought it would be fun to wear red contacts.

Sasuke frowned. Then gave a sharp jerk of the head toward Kakashi

With a puff of smoke, the ninja disappeared.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_A few minutes earlier…_

The Bladebreakers—Tyson, Max, Rei, Hilary, Kenny and even Kai, who had come along with surprisingly little resistance—had assembled in Mr. Dickenson's fancy office, awaiting the entrance of the mysterious bodyguards they had been told about.

The office was relatively large; with a generous height: the ceiling arced high in the middle, forming a soft point which pulled down to four corners. Heavy, dark velvet curtains hung from the pinnacle of the ceiling and were drawn close to each corner with braided ties then left to hang straight to the ground in soft waves, casting dark shadows over the edges of the room. A tall arching, naked window covered one wall of the room, allowing light from the outside into the room, while an unlit, iron candelabra hung gravely from the centre of the ceiling. The ground was covered by wood, interspaced by thick, carpet rugs and the walls were washed in a severe maroon paint. A large, round, oak table served as Mr. Dickenson's office desk, while various other pieces of furniture were strewn about in an effort to bring warmth to the otherwise solemn room.

Tyson, Max and Kenny were crowded around Mr. Dickenson's desk, excitedly hounding him with question after question. Hilary stood a little to the side, near the window, out of which she could observe a spectacular view of Tokyo's skyline. She feigned disinterest in their conversation, but her wide eyes betrayed her, glimmering with repressed curiosity.

Rei, even further back, was sprawled comfortably across the seat and arms of a cushioned armchair. He appeared more or less ambivalent about the whole thing; but the way his gaze flicked to the door every now and again, and how his head was titled, just slightly, toward Mr. Dickenson, showed he too was listening.

The only one who was completely and utterly disjointed from the entire conversation was Kai. Stretched against the wall in a languid gesture, eyes closed and arms crossed, Kai looked as though he had many more useful things he could be doing. Which, by all rights, probably wasn't too far from how he really felt.

"So, Mr. D, who are these guys?" Tyson was practically bouncing on his toes.

"Well, m'boy!" Stanley Dickenson tugged on the end of his moustache while smiling genially. "They're supposed to be ninjas training at their village… They come very highly recommended! Though it's very hard to come by much information… the entire Village is one huge mystery. Looks like you boys—"

Hilary coughed into her hand.

"Oh, ho! And girls, of course!" Mr. Dickenson chuckled. "Looks like all of you will be having quite an interesting time in Russia this year! It's well known that they almost never fail at their missions so I'm confident in their abilities."

"Oh WOW! Cool! We get to meet actual NINJAS! I wonder if they do all that crazy freaky-jutsu type thing!" Tyson swung up his hands in a mock fighting gesture and Max had to jump back, lest his friend hit him. "I wonder if they'll just poof into the room, wearing all black and swinging those crazy star thingies!"

Kenny opened his mouth to object but another voice beat him to it.

"Tyson, this isn't one of your tacky, out-of-date martial arts movies. They're ninja. They take on jobs that no one else has the ability to do and do it effectively and efficiently. It's not glamorous and it's not pleasant. They do what they're told, when they're told to do it, and they get paid for it. And it's _ninjutsu_. You'd think you'd know that with all your Kendo training… Oh, and they don't all wear black, for your information." Surprisingly, this information came from Rei and when Tyson looked over he saw the black haired Chinese boy regarding him with raised eyebrows.

"For _your _information, Rei," Tyson pointed at his friend cheekily. "Gramps doesn't teach me about all that stuff; he spends more time chasing me down the halls with his shinai."

"How do you know so much about them, Rei?" Hilary questioned, turning from the window.

"I studied them." Rei threw his head back to look at the ceiling. "At my village, we learned a lot of things, some of which was about our… _hm_… _unique_ counterparts: _ninja_." Rei made a short, sharp exhalation through his nose; he seemed ready to use another adjective to describe them, but refrained. "As you probably know, the Chinese and Japanese have never really… seen eye to eye… shall we say. This of course transferred over to the shadow walkers… the less, ah, _constrained_ part of the society."

"By constrained you mean…" Hilary trailed off, looking at Rei with unease.

"Constrained by law." Rei's head came down and she shivered at the keen stare he gave her. His pupils had narrowed into the cat-like slits of his ancestors, but he didn't look angry. Actually there wasn't much expression on his face at all; it was disconcerting. "The Japanese had the _Ninja:_ trained in the arts of _ninjutsu, genjutsu _and_ taijutsu_—techniques all centering around specific uses of _chakra_, a latent ability in the body. The Chinese though… well, we had a different way of going about things." He leaned back, eyes falling to resting intently on the door. He didn't say anything more.

"Okaaay…" Tyson tried to fill the awkward silence. "Well, then, Kenny! What do _you_ know about these guys?"

"Well!" Kenny pulled out his laptop, Dizzy, and placed her on the table before beginning to type away madly. "Dizzy and I were trying to research some of this yesterday—"

"Excuse me? But _who's_ the one who fell asleep all over my keyboard yesterday?" Came a distinctively female, digital voice from the laptop.

"Ha, yeah, sorry about that Dizzy." Kenny laughed.

"Yeah well… Nice of you to say _after_ you drooled on my new touchpad." Came the sarcastic reply. Max and Tyson sniggered while Kenny took on a mock affronted look.

"Gee, thanks Dizzy, very funny. Try telling me that again the next time I'm cleaning your monitor."

"You wouldn't dare! Not my beautiful face!"

"Ha, ha, we'll see. Now, if you could just pull up that information…"

"Not until you promise…"

"_Dizzy._"

"Oh, all right, but I'm not letting this go, just so you know…"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, so guys, this is what I found." Kenny pulled the laptop around so mostly everyone could see it better. Unfortunately, this meant turning its back to Kai, but the elder boy didn't appear to care—actually he wasn't even paying attention; he was staring coldly at a dark corner of the ceiling—so with only a single, nervous glance in the Kai's direction (Kai had always had that effect on him: making Kenny feel small and awkward no matter where he was), Kenny went back to what he was saying.

"Apparently there are Five Great Shinobi—which means ninja—Nations: The Land of Earth, The Land of Fire, The Land of Lightning, The Land of Water and The Land of Wind. The ninjas that are coming hear are from the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire. It's called the Hidden Leaf Village… or Konohagakure—Konoha for short—because apparently no one, except the ninja who live there, knows where it is. However, it's speculated that it might be located somewhere around Kushiro…"

"No… Really?" Max squinted at the tiny map Kenny had pulled up. "You're kidding! I thought they were only a little up North; how are they possibly going to walk all the way from over there in a _week_? It's not possible!"

"Actually, for them, it very likely is." Kenny continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. His eyes were glued to the webpage, he scrolled down rapidly. "Now, Mr. Dickenson was right about it being difficult to find information on Konoha ninja in specific, But look here." Kenny gestured at some obscure area of the text.

"See, the ninja, like Rei said, are specially trained in the art of using _chakra_. Now chakra is defined in many ways by different cultures but the main point is that it is the spiritual essence derived from the major nerve ganglia surrounding the spinal column. It emanates from six specific areas in the body, called the Six Wheels, and is considered the nexus of the metaphysical and biophysical energy of the body. Many practices claim to use chakra, including, but not limited to: yoga, acupuncture and ninjutsu. Now usually, access to this energy is not possible to the normal human, though people can learn to access these points in other people, as they do with acupuncture. However, with intensive training from early life, it is theoretically possible to gain the ability to focus one's own circulatory system enough to—"

"Chief… You do realize you lost me at '_chakra_' don't you?" Tyson pointed out blankly.

Kenny sighed. "It's like magic." He summarized, rolling his eyes behind the large glasses he wore.

"Oh!" Tyson's eyes lit up. "I get it! So they can, like, cast spells and stuff or something?"

Kenny gave a long-suffering smile. "Or something." He said. "They're called jutsu…"

"I knew that!" Tyson insisted, looking around for someone to back him up.

"Honestly, you are such an ignoramus." Hilary huffed.

"Hey! You take that back!"

"Make me!"

"Children! Please!" Mr. Dickenson rose to his feet. "Calm down, our guests will be arriving any—"

Just then came the sound of a small explosion and a cloud of smoke filled the room.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

The first response in the room would have probably been utter chaos.

Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary all jumped away with varying amounts of shock and fear as their vision was suddenly obscured by thick smoke. Dizzy yelped as she was jostled and Mr. Dickenson leapt to his feet, uttering a panicked 'What is going on here?', sending his leather chair tumbling to the ground. Rei too had jumped from his seated position, but had made sure to evade the worst of the smoke. Falling back into a defensive crouch he shot a glance to the only other person he could see in the room. But of course, Kai hadn't even moved and Rei felt a twinge of irritation growing within him. Kai could at least _pretend _to care!

Then, just as suddenly as the smoke had come, it vanished. In its place stood four people: one adult, and three teens.

"Wah! Who the hell are you?!" Tyson jumped back. Having somehow gotten his hands on a large mop, he now brandished the long wooden pole threateningly in front of him, ignoring the dangling material at the other end.

Tyson glared at the weirdos before him, noticing that they didn't even flinch at his declaration or the wooden pole which was pointed awfully close to the dark haired one's face. But the guy didn't even look up! He just put his hands in his pockets and leaned back. Tyson growled. "And how'd you get in here?!" He demanded. They WILL pay attention to him!

The taller one, who looked an awful lot like a scarecrow with his messed up silver hair and freaky mask—covering half his face and one eye, what sort of style was that anyway?—was holding on to the collar of another, blond haired boy.

"Oie! Kakashi-sensei! Think you can let me down now?" The blond haired boy cried, flailing his limbs wildly.

"If you say so." The man answered, unconcerned, and let go.

There was a loud _thump_ as the boy landed hard on the ground.

"Hey! You didn't have to drop me!" The boy yelled, jumping to his feet in anger.

It was like a string of tension had been snapped; practically the entire group in the room visibly rippled as they relaxed. Hearing the mysterious group speak, and to act so casual, was like a catharsis. It lessened the sense of danger immensely.

To all except Rei, who, from behind the strange group, clenched his hands into fists, curling his lips up into a tight snarl—pointed canines flashing defensively.

They stood with their backs to him but there was no question who they were. Their stances: the lay onlooker would have only seen the casual way their shoulders fell, the unguarded carelessness as one placed his hands behind his head, the youthful innocence as another laughed. But Rei could see the strength just beneath every movement—even as one leaned backwards, thrusting his hands into his pockets—Rei could see how the muscles of the arms rolled, ready to lash out in a deadly strike with the slightest provocation. They were like sleeping snakes, unpredictable and dangerous.

_'Ninja'_ His mind hissed an instinctive warning, but he shoved the reflex down. This was a new era; the bad blood was in the past.

Rei forcefully lowered his hands, but he couldn't stop his eyes from narrowing; and didn't bother trying to get his fists to uncurl. The ninja were here on a mission, Rei knew that took precedence over all… but that didn't mean he _trusted _them.

"Hey! I asked you a question!" Tyson's voice cut through the silence again and he shook the mop he was holding. "Don't make me use this thing!"

The black haired boy's eyes opened and flickered to Tyson. Tyson involuntarily widened his eyes and nearly took a step back, the tip of the mop faltered. The empty darkness in that teen's eyes startled him. He was dangerous, Tyson could tell. Out of the corner of his eyes, Tyson could see the older man give him an amused glance, but Tyson's interest was on the strange teen in front of him. The boy's eyes were closed once more, having apparently lost interest in Tyson. But Tyson stared on. The only person he'd ever seen with eyes like that was…

"Hakate Kakashi of the Hidden Leaf Village. You requested a service from our ninja?" Tyson gasped as the older man, who had been directly in his vision, just suddenly wasn't there anymore. Spinning around he saw him standing in front of Mr. Dickenson, who had a pleased—if not slightly astonished—look on his face. Righting his chair, Mr. Dickenson fell into it slowly, the amazed expression still on his face.

"How—when—where…?" Tyson couldn't comprehend how the guy had gotten past him without him even noticing.

"Take in easy Ty," Max whispered in Tyson's ear. "They're on _our_ side, at least."

"And they've got a reputation of being honest and honourable." Kenny piped up.

"Yeah, that's what they want _us_ to think." Tyson whispered back. Max sighed.

"Hey, we're not all _that _bad." Came an amused voice.

Tyson and Max looked up to see the blond boy from the ninja group standing in front of them.

"Well…" The boy amended, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Maybe _teme_ over there…" And he shot a glance and jerked a thumb back at the dark-haired boy, who sent the blond boy an insipid stare before sniffing, drawling out something that sounded like: "_dobe._"

"Hey!" The blond spun around to give the other a dark glare, which was largely ignored. With what looked like visible effort, the blond forced his hands to relax from the clenched fists they had formed. He took a deep breath and turned back to Tyson, Kenny and Max.

"Yeah, Sasuke's a jerk, but the rest of us are ok. That's Sakura over there." He nodded to the cute pink-haired girl. "And that's Kakashi-sensei." He sent a look over to the grey-haired man. "And I'm Naruto!" He snapped off a jaunty salute.

Tyson grinned crookedly. For some reason he liked this guy, he seemed familiar. "Tyson." He said forcefully as an introduction. "This is Max and Kenny; and that guy over there is—"

"Hey!" Cried a digital, female voice. "Don't forget about me!"

"Oh yeah, sorry Dizzy." Tyson grinned apologetically at the computer. Naruto, who had been gazing about in confusion, wondering where the voice had come from, gaped openly when he realized the computer had spoken.

"It talks?!" He gasped.

"I would appreciate it if you referred to **_'IT'_** by **_'HER'_** proper name." The trapped bitbeast shot back haughtily. Naruto immediately apologized to the laptop as Tyson, Max and Kenny laughed.

"Yeah, well," Tyson continued with his introductions. "Now you've met Dizzy. That's Rei, that's Hilary and the sourpuss in the corner is Kai."

"Oh!" Naruto sent a look to each person in turn, lingering on Rei but turning to Kai in interest. "So you have one of those too!"

Tyson laughed, knowing exactly what Naruto was talking about, it was like they were on the same wavelength. "Oh yeah, he's our Captain; but you'd never guess it from the way he's always avoiding us. Hey Kenny, whaddya think would happen if I started calling him _teme_?"

One corner of Kenny's mouth twitched upwards. "I'd say you'd be lucky to make it to the next tournament in one piece."

Tyson laughed again, but Max, silent, had a vaguely bemused look on his face. After a few seconds though, the look passed.

"So, Naruto…" Max paused, trying to think of something light-hearted to ask… What _does _one ask a ninja? "What do you like?"

"_Well_…" Naruto, scrunched his eyes and put a finger to his lips, looking like he was preparing a long list. "I like… ramen!"

Tyson immediately perked up. "Ramen!? You like ramen too? I love ramen!"

Naruto's eyes snapped to Tyson, eyes shinning with equal glee. "Miso?"

"Of course!" Tyson grinned widely.

"Raw vegetables?" Naruto's voice then dropped and both boys let out an identical 'Uhgggg' and shuddered.

They shared twin looks of muted awe.

Max, meanwhile was trying to hide his laughter behind his hand. Kenny had dropped his forehead into his palm and Dizzy muttered a quiet 'Great…now if he breaks, we know where to find spare parts.'

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**',.-End, Chapter Two-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Hey! That's chapter 2! Hope you all enjoyed! XD Chapter three has more meetings, discussions, suspicions and evil glares. Stay tuned! Now! For answering reviews, I have included only the responses to ANONYMOUS reviews which I received. I fully intended to include the response to every review here, but found that the space taken to do so was just too long. Thank you to each and every one of you though; I enjoyed all of your reviews immensely.

**KittyKitty:** Heya! Hm, your idea for Rei is interesting. I can't say I'll follow it exactly (Sorry!), but lemme just say that I've got _plans _for our favourite Neko-jin! (grin)

**Okane:** Hey, thanks for reviewing! Yup, Naruto and Beyblade, unusual, but very fun to write! I can't wait until Kai and Sasuke get the chance to talk (evil grin).

**nekojin321: **Yay! Glad you like it so far, I hope you liked this update!

**FairyDyris: **Ah, so you don't know much about Naruto? Well, I must warn you that there will be spoilers in my fic. However, my fic diverts from the anime fairly early, so you should be able to follow most things fairly easily (exempting Sasuke's flashbacks XD). Please tell me though, if my fic isn't clear in some places, I don't want it to be confusing!

**Bboy Panda:** Wow, thank you for your kind words, and the fav! I love writing details (as you probably know by now XD) and I try to make my imagery fit with what someone would really feel, so it means a lot to me that you think it's realistic. I'll do my best to keep this story up to your standards (I'm not sure if I can do humor convincingly, but that's not going to stop me from trying! Hah) and thanks again!

**Lady Raiden: **Hello! I'm glad you like my Kai, I spent ages piecing together his character—flaws and all—and I wanted to present it in a believable and realistic manner: not hiding the flaws, but making them relatable, you know? Anyway, Kai and Sasuke will have a fun meeting, I can guarantee it! On a side not though, how far are you along in _Sooryavansham_? It's extremely long (I know well! XD), but I'd love to hear your views on it when you finish!

**Katelynn Wendell: **Hiya! Glad you liked it and I hope you liked this update!

**namrata: **Hello! Yup! Team 7 and the Bladebreakers have made their first clash, more interaction will come in the next chapter, hope you like!

**Animelvr:** Thanks, yeah, there aren't many Beyblade-Naruto crossovers, are there? I wanted to try something new; and since this is my first crossover I'm just hoping I don't end up messing up all the characters XD…There are just too many people in the room! Anyway, I'm glad you like that little description of Sasuke and Orochimaru. I like adding little things like that so you'll probably see more to come! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed: XXFlamingPhoenixXX, KittyKitty, terracannon876, Okane, Elves of the Moon, sasukoi, Kais-lil-lover, nekojin321, kavbj, CherryPointsMegaOtaku, Kai's-Suzaku, Keight Ylonen, DancerInTheDark101, FairyDyris, fawks136, XSilentX-XShadowsX, lady KCassandra, ****Bboy Panda, Rapunzelle, vlissan, Chibi-Lolthen, BloodRedViolet, not the usual baka, Nameless Little Girl, Kai-Dranzer, Amanita Virosa-Amaranthus-, FlamingIce94, Haro kzoids, Lady Raiden, Katelynn Wendell, Mirai-Vegetto, blazingfire03, bladz-liska, namrata, Azalie-Kauriu, Animelvr, d1bontemp, StarShinobi, blueXXphoenix and MarineDweller! **

* * *

Please continue to review and tell me your opinion on this story and what character interactions YOU would like to see! (You can choose any characters, from basic ones like Kai and Sasuke or Tyson and Naruto to unusual ones like Kai and Itachi or Sasuke and Voltaire; I will keep your opinions in mind while writing the story.)

**Adio!**

**Sholay**


	3. CLASH OF THE TITANS: Sourpuss Standoff!

**_HIYA!_**

**Author's Blurb: **Hello all! I'm back from my trip to Portugal and all set with a new (long!) chapter for you! Thanks to all of you who reviewed/favourited/alerted this story! I made it extra long to make up for the wait ;p

Anonymous reviews will be responded to at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**KEY: **

_'… Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

**_I_****I**_ …(italics)… **I**_**I **denote a change in language

**_I_****I**_ **…(bold)…**_ **_I_I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_:-Sharingan Eyes-: _**

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

_…_

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

**_J. Gregory Keyes_**

**_Disclaimer:_** Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-Chapter Three-.,'_**

_CLASH OF THE TITANS: Sourpuss Standoff!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Hilary sent an appraising look over the strangers before her: two boys, a girl and one adult. These were the professional bodyguards that were supposed to be guarding them? They were children! They couldn't have been much older than her… Actually, aside from the older guy; they all looked younger than both Kai and Rei.

But if there was anything Hilary had learned from the Bladebreakers it was not to judge a book by its cover… unless that book was Tyson, in which case it was probably worse.

Figuring that standing at the windowsill thinking was not getting her anywhere, she decided to try and approach one of the strangers. Mr. Dickenson and the older guy—Kakashi, she thought he'd said his name was—were engaged in quiet business-talk. The blond boy was speaking animatedly to Tyson and Max and the black-haired youth didn't look like someone who would take kindly to being disturbed. So instead, she let her eyes fall on the last member of the group. The pink-haired girl was actually quite pretty, Hilary noticed. She had a slim, but lean figure, with toned muscles visible under black shorts and a knee-length red dress—split on the sides to allow for easy movement. Her figure was perfect and Hilary couldn't deny the small tinge of jealousy she felt at first, but then she quickly pushed it aside, annoyed at her own shallowness.

Mustering her conviction, Hilary took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Hi!" She said as brightly as she could. "I'm Hilary Tatibana. You're our new bodyguards, right?"

The girl looked up in surprise, staring at Hilary with clear, sea-green eyes.

"Hey," Hilary laughed nervously. "No need to act so surprised, I'm just saying hi…"

Immediately, the girl's expression softened, forming an almost sheepish grin. "Ah… I'm sorry, I'm not really used to… well… at the academy, guys are usually easier to get along with 'cause girls are… well… ah… always…" She trailed off but Hilary knew immediately what the girl was talking about: in general, girls had the tendency to be much more competitive with each other. They thought on deeper and more subtle levels and were prone to misunderstandings and gossiping. Hilary too had often always found boys much easier to get along with: they had a wider acceptance range and involved less collateral… why else would she have gotten involved in an all-boys beyblading team? Plus there was always the more obvious—ah—_aesthetic _benefits…

After a short pause the pink-haired girl continued. "And when we weren't competing over marks it was over—" Just then she stopped abruptly and seemed to come to her senses. Hilary wondered what she was going to say. "OH! Where are my manners?" The girl smiled widely. "My name is Sakura Haruno. You probably heard Kakashi-sensei introduce himself and that guy over there is Naruto." Hilary shot a quick glance at the blond talking to Tyson, Max and Kenny.

"Ah." Hilary said. "The navy-haired boy he's talking to is Tyson, the blond one is Max and the short one is Kenny." Sakura nodded at each name, taking in the appearance of each boy.

"And that's Rei." Hilary gestured over to the neko-jin still standing stiffly next to his chair. Hilary couldn't understand why Rei was standing so far away from the group; usually the Chinese boy was very hospitable. "Who's that standing over there?" Hilary asked, looking at the dark-haired, pale boy standing a little behind Sakura.

"That's _Sasuke._" Sakura sighed.

"_Huh._" Hilary recognize that tone and sure enough, when she looked over at Sakura, the other girl's eyes were slightly out of focus as she stared at the boy; and she had a small goofy smile on her face. Hilary grinned knowingly. _'Ah… So that's what all the girls would fight about…'_ She took a second, closer look at this Sasuke guy.

He was handsome, in that loner, 'don't-talk-to-me-if-you-value-your-voice-box' kind of way. Actually, she sensed something familiar about him. The way he stood completely still with his eyes closed… As though he alone bore the weight of the world on his shoulders and couldn't be bothered by anyone else's petty quiddities… It reminded her of Kai. But in no way did the two boys look alike.

They both had skin as pale as ivory, like the sun had never touched them… But Kai was tall and strong with two toned, blue hair…light at the front and darkening to a deep navy as it moved back… and fine, noble features—high set cheekbones, smooth jaw-line and a perfect, Greek nose. Confident arrogance was defined in every line of his body.

This new boy had hair so dark it shone a deep blue-indigo. He was shorter than Kai and his features were more boyish: softer at the edges, with a nose that curved up at the end…Although, somehow he managed to maintain an intense expression that was eerily similar to that of Kai.

However, looking even closer, there were more subtle differences between them as well. Kai had the poise of a leader: the defined line of his shoulders and the perfect posture of his back—even while leaning against the wall—radiated a quiet, unspoken, but indisputable authority. Sasuke was different. His head was turned down and to the side and he had his hips tilted slightly outward as he leaned back, thrusting his hands deep into the pockets of his shorts. Hilary couldn't imagine Kai ever standing in a pose like that.

But Hilary could see how girls would go crazy over a guy like that. She even bet that Sasuke had the defiant, disaffected, moody personality to fit with his appearance. She smirked. "He _is_ quite good looking…" She teased.

Sakura's reaction was immediate; she swivelled around on the spot and glared bloody daggers at Hilary. "Don't even _think _about it!" She threatened. "Sasuke's MINE!"

From the corner of her eyes Hilary saw Sasuke's head tilt, just a little. His eyes slid open and she got a glimpse of the blackest eyes she had ever seen. He then made a small movement with his mouth before returning to his original stance. Hilary realized, with some humour, that he had just 'tsk-ed' at Sakura. _'Poor girl' _Hilary thought sympathetically, _'She's got her work cut out for her if she what's a guy like **that** to fall in love with her.'_

Out loud though she said. "It's ok, it's ok… I was just saying. He's all yours." Hilary held out her hands in a pacifying gesture and though Sakura backed off she still looked suspicious, as though she didn't believe what Hilary was saying. "Besides…" Hilary blushed then. "I've got someone _else_ I'm more interested in…" Inexorably, her eyes drifted over to the distant figure of Kai, who had yet to move at all. Hilary felt her stomach do a little flip at just looking at him… She was almost glad that he hadn't looked up at the same moment.

"Him?" Sakura looked interestedly at Kai. "He's the one with the red eyes, isn't he?"

"Yeah…" Hilary was confused. When had Kai opened his eyes in front of her? "How'd you know?"

"I just do…" Sakura said vaguely, her eyes still on Kai. "Well, he looks kind of strong, you know?..." Her voice lifted suggestively at the end.

Hilary felt a twinge of annoyance at that. Sakura had her crush already! "Now just wait one moment—"

Sakura laughed. "Don't worry, don't worry. Like you said, he's all yours."

"I wish." Hilary muttered, then regretted saying anything at all. Silently she hoped Sakura hadn't heard, but when the other girl sent her a questioning glance she sighed. "Kai is like… _the_ most famous Beyblader… In the world." She said. But when Sakura frowned, Hilary realized that she would have to elaborate. "That's huge; Beyblade is a _major_ sport, an Olympic sport actually." Now Sakura's eyes lit up with a little realization and she looked at Kai in appraisal now.

"So he's good?" She asked. Hilary laughed.

"He's not just good, he's one of the **best** _and_ he has the largest fan base… the number of fangirls he has… even fan_boys_… it's scary…" Hilary trailed off… Kai could have any one of those girls if he wanted… and he had chosen none of them. Didn't give them the time of day. What chances did that leave _her_?

Surprisingly, Sakura laughed as though she knew exactly what Hilary was talking about. "Sasuke has his own little fanclub at home too." She said. Hilary blinked.

"Kai has, literally, _millions_ of fans…" Hilary said slowly. Sakura paused at that.

"Wow…" Was all the pink-haired girl said, bringing her index finger to her upper lip thoughtfully. Then she looked up, "So what _is_ Beyblade, anyway?"

Hilary stared. "You don't know?"

"No…" Sakura answered wryly. "Otherwise why would I have asked?"

"Ha, right." Hilary smiled. "Well… You know… I don't think I'm going to tell you."

"What?" Sakura said with an indignant frown.

"I'm sorry," Hilary raised her hands, palm out, in a placating gesture. "But trust me when I say that if I tell you right now you'll laugh and never believe me. Believe me, I know, 'cause I did. You should try and get two of the guys to demonstrate for you. It would be nice to get Kai and Tyson, since they're quite something, especially against each other… But Rei or Max are really more likely to say yes than Kai, and it'll be easier to ask one of them. Tyson of course is a given: he'll take any chance he can get to show-off."

"I don't get it." Sakura muttered. "What's so strange about this silly sport that no one will tell us anything about it? I mean, it can't possibly be weirder than walking up the walls…"

"You just wait and—wait… say what?" Hilary looked confused.

"Oh…" Sakura looked at Hilary. "It's a basic ninja technique. By focusing our chakra around our feet, we're able to scale almost any surface without our hands."

"Wow…" Hilary breathed; the possibilities of having a technique like that were phenomenal! And if that was just _basic_… "So you can, like, stand on the ceiling and stuff?"

"Yup!" Sakura smiled at the irony of the question.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Hilary asked excitedly.

"Oh… ahh…" Sakura looked sheepish. "I don't really know. See, at my village we've been learning how to use our chakra since we were very young. I'm not sure if it's possible to teach someone who's never used it before…"

"Oh…" Hilary said, disappointed. After a second though, she looked up. "Actually, that reminds me…" she stopped and fumbled, not really knowing how to phrase her next question. "I just wanted to ask you, if it's not too… too bold… But I was wondering… _ano_… ah… How… How old a-are you guys, anyway?"

To her surprise, instead of being insulted, as most girls would be when asked their age, Sakura just laughed. "I guess we do look kinda young, don't we? Well, Naruto and I are 14, Sasuke just turned 15. And Kakashi-sensei… well, he never told us his age, but I don't think he's over 30."

Hilary's eyes widened. "You're all so young! I mean, Kenny's 13, but otherwise you're the same age as us! Younger even, 'cause Rei's 15 and Kai's 17… How can you possibly be… be…"

Sakura smiled. "You shouldn't be deceived by our age. Once a Shinobi graduates from the academy and earns one of these, a _hitai-ate_, we're officially adults in our village." She put her hand around the metal plated headband on the top of her head, tilting it toward the light—showing the engraved contours of a stylized leaf in the center. Hilary noticed Naruto and Sasuke both had similar headbands.

Sakura continued. "Whether we're simply saving cats in trees or fighting deadly ninja assassins, we're considered to be mature, responsible adults. Some of us even live alone…Our childhood was over the second we decided to become ninja."

"That's so…" Hilary paused; she didn't want to say what she was thinking, fearing the girl would be offended.

"Sad? Terrible? Cruel? You can say it; I've heard it all…" Sakura's smile turned into a smirk, one that showed acknowledgment and self-righteous pity for what she considered to be ignorance "But you're wrong. The truth is we're all perfectly capable of thinking and acting as adults. It was our choice to become ninja, not our families' or friends'; it's an honour for us to earn the _hitai-ate,_ making us full ninja. We don't have the same childish needs as other kids. We've seen the worst things the world can throw at us: abuse, pain, suffering, death…" Her voice faded here and Hilary saw her steal a glance at Sasuke. Then Sakura looked up, conviction sharp in her eyes. "And we've overcome it all! We may be children in body, but we live to protect the lives of everyone we care about! We _are_ adults in our minds and our hearts!"

She sounded so proud, so convinced, that Hilary couldn't help the pitying look she sent the girl. "So eager to grow up…" She whispered.

Sakura looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

Hilary hesitated. "What if… what if being an adult isn't everything you think it will be?"

A short, cynical laugh. "Becoming an adult is not about glamour and freedom. It's about responsibility, duty toward one's home and family and honour in one's life. And being ninja is the highest honour one can receive in our village; who could pass that up?" Sakura sounded proud.

Hilary looked sad.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"It looks like the children are getting along quite well." Mr. Dickenson sounded pleased.

"Hmmm…" with half-lidded eyes Kakashi looked over the group. Naruto was chatting animatedly with three teens who looked around his age: Tyson, Max and Kenny, Mr. Dickenson said their names were. Sakura meanwhile was talking comfortably to another girl—Hilary—Kakashi had raised a fine eyebrow when he'd seen this. Sakura had never gotten along with many girls when they were home.

But then Kakashi's eyes fell on Sasuke. Of course, his young prodigy wasn't making any effort to socialize, preferring the company of the backs of his eyelids to that of anyone in the room. But what intrigued the young Jonin was not the actions of his student—he was well used to Sasuke's behaviour—it was the two other boys who had not made any effort to get to know the new team.

First there was the Chinese boy, whose name he now knew was Rei. The boy, previously standing, was now seated in a nearby armchair, his back pressed deeply into the cushion. Though he feigned casual indifference by averting his eyes—refraining from nervous twitching and arranging his hands appropriately—Kakashi could tell he was far from it. The way his shoulders were tensed and the way his unusual, amber-gold eyes flickered toward his students and him every so often, betrayed his unease. Kakashi also remembered how the boy had leapt up in alarm when the ninja had appeared, crouched and ready in a practiced fighting stance… The tiger stance?… Kakashi couldn't be sure; his Chinese martial arts knowledge was not what it should be.

Now, Kakashi could hardly blame the youth for being distant, paranoid and even suspicious. But it made _their_ job that much more difficult to have to work against such resistance. He would have to find out a way to make Rei trust them.

Then there was the older boy. Kakashi's eyes strayed past Rei to fall on a shadowy figure in the corner. Kai. Kakashi didn't know what to make of the teen, other than what was obvious: He was older than Sasuke, maybe by a year or two, and he didn't seem to like socializing. That was fine, Kakashi could respect caution. But this was different. Aside from that one intense glare—a _red-eyed_ glare, Kakashi reminded himself—Kai had stayed motionless against the wall with his eyes closed. Cautious observation was redundant when one didn't even open his eyes. It was like Kai had seen them, categorized their worth and immediately dismissed them from his concern.

It made Kakashi uneasy. Team 7's strength was obvious; anyone could tell that the ninja were not to be messed with just by looking at them… Their power was innate and subtle, but noticeable to all—the side effects of being Chakra users—it caused an even more pronounced feeling to those who had no idea that the Chakra was affecting them. It was why they had gotten so many strange stares while walking down the street: people knew that they were to be feared… but had no ideas why. But this boy didn't seem to have any such concerns. Who was he that he could dismiss four ninja so easily?

And he was perceptive. Kakashi added. It wasn't an easy feat to notice hiding shinobi, especially without the use of Chakra.

"Hmmm," He said again.

Suddenly Mr. Dickenson's voice broke through his musings.

"Ok boys and girls! Now that we've all become aquainted, I think the Bladebreakers should get back to their training."

Tyson groaned and Max gave him a sympathetic smile. Naruto and Sakura's faces lit up as they realized they might finally get to see what this 'Beyblade' thing was.

"Now boys, you have a very important tournament coming up and it's very important that you—"

"Practice until our arms fall off and we collapse into bed. Yeah, we got it, Mr. D, Kai tells us that enough times in the day." Tyson broke in, sending Kai an exasperated look. Kakashi also shifted his eyes to regard the boy, as did Naruto and Sakura, but there was no obvious response from the older teen.

Slowly, the Bladebreakers began to shift to the door, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke following. Kakashi drew back from the desk and turned to go as well.

"Oh, Mr. Hakate could you stay behind for a moment?" Kakashi paused and Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke stopped as well. "And Kai, you too, if you would." Kai had never moved to begin with.

Eventually the room emptied. Rei was the last one to reach the door and just at the threshold he paused and turned back, sending a suspicious glace at the ninja then looking to Kai. Kakashi could tell he was worried that Team 7 would do something crazy if he left. _'Give us a little more credit.'_ He thought humorously. _'If we wanted to kill them we would have done it already.'_ Rei paused and Kakashi wondered what he was waiting for.

"Rei?" Mr. Dickenson had apparently also noticed the teen's dawdling. "Do you want to stay?"

"Well…" Rei's voice, low and soothing, floated over. "I…"

Just then Kai's eyes opened. Immediately, all eyes snapped to him. But, paying no heed to the sudden attention, Kai had eyes for Rei only as he looked up and straight into the other boy's eyes. Rei grew still. A second passed, then Kai abruptly broke the eye contact and looked back down, eyelids sliding shut.

"Ah…" Rei took a step backward. "No Mr. Dickenson, It's ok. I'll head on ahead." And just like that he was gone.

Silence remained after the door clicked shut.

"Now then, how about you three?" Mr. Dickenson moved right along, completely ignoring the confused expressions on Team 7's faces at Rei's sudden, inexplicable departure. The chairman sent an expectant look around at Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke.

There was a pause as they registered Mr. Dickenson's words, then Naruto shook his head and grinned.

"Where Kakashi-sensei goes, we follow." The blond said proudly. "We won't leave him alone for a moment! Not even when he's sleeping!"

Kakashi suppressed a sound that was trying to escape his throat… whether it was a sigh or a snort, he wasn't sure.

"Well, if you say so." There was no pause in Mr. Dickenson's genial attitude. "Then I guess we should get down to business. Now, as I will not be accompanying you to Russia it will be necessary for you to remain in contact with me through—"

"Wait a moment, Mr. Dickenson." Kakashi interrupted. "You are not coming?"

"Oh, I'll be attending the tournament; I am, after all, the Chairman of the Japanese segment." Mr. Dickenson assured, moustache framing a rounded smile. "However I have a few urgent matters that require my immediate attention here in Japan."

"If you are not going to accompany the team, then who will act as the adult delegate?" Kakashi raised a long eyebrow. "We were hired to be bodyguards, not babysitters." At this, he could have sworn he heard a derisive scoff from behind him, but Kakashi ignored it for now. Mr. Dickenson chuckled, placing a hand to his round belly which rose and fell rapidly.

"Oh ho, ho! My boy! These boys are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves; after all, they've been traveling the world competing in various countries for years now. All the guardianship they'll need is in this very room." Mr. Dickenson looked up and sent a significant look in Kai's direction. "Kai, come closer, my boy! Don't be shy! We have to introduce you properly!" He grinned, obviously trying to garner some reaction with the jibe, but failed miserably.

Fluidly, Kai pushed off the wall, uncrossed his arms—slanted red eyes sliding open—and strode confidently forward. He passed Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura without even glancing in their direction. Then he came up right next to Kakashi, allowing the Jonin his first close look at the boy.

Kai was powerfully built: tall, with a lean, streamlined figure. Arrogance was clear in the lines of his shoulder blades and face; his posture and movements suggested complete confidence, unhesitating. He was strong, yes, dangerous… possibly… But what annoyed Kakashi was that he had a feeling that this guy was going to be a liability. He was too independent, too self-absorbed. If he couldn't function on a team, he might as well be dead weight.

"Now Kai, this is Kakashi Hakate. He is the lead ninja on the team." Kai gave a slow blink before fixing Kakashi with a penetrating stare, which he returned with his usual lazy smile. Kakashi's eyes stayed half closed but surreptitiously, he took this time to carefully study the boy. This was the first time Kai had looked directly at Kakashi and the ninja could clearly see the intensity simmering just under the surface of his deep blood red eyes. What bothered him was that Kai's eyes looked _real;_ if the teen was wearing contacts it was the most convincing pair he'd ever seen.

"Behind him" Dickenson continued with his western-styled introduction: given name followed by family name "Is his team: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. They call themselves Team 7." Kai's eyes shifted to each genin in turn as Mr. Dickenson pointed them out. He moved indifferently over Naruto and Sakura—to their silent chagrin—but Kakashi felt a tangible shift in the air when Sasuke and Kai met each other's stare.

Kakashi turned, interested in spite of himself. Sasuke and Kai had their eyes locked, staring intently at each other as though trying to strip the other bare. Naruto and Sakura watched on the sides, looking confused and Kakashi could understand why. Both boys had schooled their expressions into perfect monotony; not a single expression flickered across their faces as they stared each other down. If they had been staring at anyone else, Kakashi would have bet that both boys would have just scoffed and looked away. But there was something there, some subliminal understanding, or curiosity, that was drawing the boys to each other and that—not any outer expression—was what was creating the sudden stillness in the air.

"So Kai, as you know, these four will be traveling with the Bladebreakers to Russia to act as buffers against any… unwarranted activity." Mr. Dickenson's oblivious voice cut the air like a scythe and Kai immediately looked away from Sasuke to rest his gaze on the chairman instead; as though the older man's words had somehow caught his interest. Kakashi noticed with vague amusement, that Sasuke looked mildly affronted at this quick dismissal, as though annoyed that _he_ wasn't the one who'd broken eye contact. It was like there was some sort of deep, obscure power play going on that was invisible to everyone but those two. Interesting.

"Now, Kakashi… children" Mr. Dickenson nodded in the direction of the three young ninja. Naruto made to contest the Chairman's diminutive but Sakura not-so-subtly stepped on the boy's foot. Hard.

"OW! Sakura!" Came the inevitable yell.

Mr. Dickenson sent the two a benign smile that suggested he was used to this sort of behaviour. He continued speaking. "As I was saying, Kakashi, if you have any concerns or requests, all further communication between us will be made through Kai here."

"Is that so?" Kakashi looked at the boy, who resolutely ignored him.

"Yes, Kai Hiwatari is the Captain and Manager of the Bladebreakers. He is responsible for all arrangements regarding the training and welfare of the Bladebreakers."

"Is _that_ so?" Kakashi repeated, this time with a different intonation. So this kid looked after the team? He was the leader? He sure didn't seem like the type.

Sure, the authority was there, but the necessary _communication_ skills…

"Yes, of course, Kai receives some help—regarding technical support and training regiments—from Kenny and Hilary, both of whom I pointed out to you earlier." Mr. Dickenson paused and Kakashi nodded, waving at him to go on. "So I would suggest that, for convenience's sake, you all stay at Tyson's house for the night. Get to know each other, break the ice…and tomorrow you can catch the plane at six in the morning. The living accommodations may need to be amended to take the larger group into consideration." Here he sent a significant look at Kai, who let out a low 'hn' in response.

"Now that all _that _has been cleared up…" Mr. Dickenson's voice suddenly got much less certain and he hesitated, fiddling with a pen on his desk, flattening the front of his striped suit, and then pulling his hands together to interlace his chubby fingers. "There is something else of importance I'd like to discuss. Kai… what is the… the current situation… regarding your Grandfather?"

In a second, the room temperature dropped five degrees as Kai's eyes narrowed at the Chairman. Dickenson became visibly flustered under Kai's look, tugging at the collar of his shirt and struggling for something to say. Kakashi's senses prickled, but there was no chakra coming from the boy—no killing intent.

Never had Kakashi seen someone inspire such a violent reaction just by glaring at another person—without the use of chakra… He looked again at Kai's eyes, but aside from the definition of the boy's profile, he couldn't get much of a glimpse of his eyes, Kai had effectively turned away from him just enough to conceal them.

_'But people don't have red eyes.'_ Kakashi couldn't wrap his head around it. _'Only those who possess Sharingan…' _Here, his gaze fell on Sasuke, who was also watching Kai, the edges of involuntary interest in his expression. _'But there are only two known users of Sharingan alive… It is a bloodline trait, carried from parent to child only… This boy can **not** possess the Sharingan, or else he would have to be—'_

But Kakashi's train of thought was broken by the nervous stuttering of Mr. Dickenson, who apparently, couldn't handle the silence Kai was causing for any longer.

"K-Kai, m-m'boy… It's very…very _important_ for us to know any information you have on your Grandfather!" Slowly, as he went, Mr. Dickenson's words gained more confidence. He leaned forward in his desk, while Kai leaned back, very slightly, in his stance. One corner of the teen's lips pulled down in a disagreeable expression. "We know that ever since the Championships two years ago he has practically disappeared from the public's eye and since he was never incarcerated—"

"Incarcerated?" Kakashi echoed.

"Wait, what?" Naruto blurted and was jabbed in the side by Sakura's elbow. "Hey! Will you stop that? It hurts! And your elbows are bony!" Naruto nursed his side tenderly. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Since he was never incarcerated," Mr. Dickenson continued as though he'd never been interrupted, obviously considering his words to hold priority over any questions Team 7 may have had. "He could be practically anywhere in the world. The IBBA has had no interaction with him; but we were wondering if he contacted you in any way." Mr. Dickenson paused, obviously waiting for a response. But as several seconds stretched into minutes, Kai made no movement, merely staring the Chairman into a fidgeting mess. Obviously he wasn't going to be offering any information anytime soon.

"Listen, Kai." Mr. Dickenson, mustering his nerve, grew serious. Kai ignored this and crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "This is a very grave matter. After what happened last year with Boris, and two years ago with your Grandfather it is very likely that he will try to—"

"He is in Russia."

Silence fell.

Everyone stared. For Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, this was the first full sentence they had heard Kai speak and, quite frankly, they were surprised he even had a voice. But Kai acted for all the world as though he had never even spoken. His poster remained the same: arms crossed and head tilted downward so the folds of his long scarf covered the bottom half of his face. His eyes stayed closed. It seemed that Kai had just responded to get Mr. Dickenson to stop badgering him

But Kakashi knew better than to be fooled by the boy's seemingly innocent reaction. _'He will try to… what?'_ Kakashi wondered now what Mr. Dickenson had been going to say before Kai interrupted him. A guy like Kai never spoke unless it was completely unavoidable—Kakashi had known his own share of loners in his time, his past self included—and Kai was definitely trying to stop Mr. Dickenson from revealing… something… about his Grandfather. Kakashi frowned, he didn't like equivocators.

"He—he's in Russia?" Mr. Dickenson's mouth was slightly agape; he fell back in his chair. He seemed thunderstruck. "How—when—why?" For a few seconds Mr. Dickenson spluttered incoherent questions, none of which Kai seemed inclined to answer. Eventually Mr. Dickenson gathered himself, shaking his head. "No matter. It is no matter. Voltaire Hiwatari is not allowed to attend any formal Beyblading events, so it doesn't matter. And you, Kai are strictly forbidden from having any interaction with him, do you understand?"

There was a small pause, Mr. Dickenson seemed to take Kai's silence for agreement and he relaxed. Kakashi did not.

"Very well, this is fine; this is why we've hired bodyguards…" The elderly chairman muttered.

Kakashi's interest was definitely peaked now. It seemed as though this _Voltaire Hiwatari_ was going to be an obstacle in the path of their mission. Kakashi would have to do some research if he wanted to stay on top of this…

"Ok then!" Mr. Dickenson had apparently come to terms with the situation, the genial smile once again crinkling his round face. "Now Kai! You've barely said two words since we got here! These ninja will be protecting you and your team for the next few weeks! It is imperative that you get to know one another so that you will work well together! Don't you have anything else to say to them?"

There was silence for a few seconds, then a slow, deliberate drawl slipped through the air.

"You are entrusting the lives of your team in the hands of _children_." Kai said dryly. While he said this though, he stared straight at Kakashi, as though daring him to say something. Kakashi stayed quiet, choosing instead to take in the view of those blood red eyes. They had no tomoe, he noticed. No ring or markings common to Sharingan.

Kai's eyes then narrowed and flicked to Mr. Dickenson. "I was not aware anything else needed to be said." And with that, Kai turned sharply, his long scarf billowing dramatically behind him, and swept cleanly from the room.

No one said anything for a moment after Kai left; such was the effect of his personality. Then…

"Wow, Sasuke," Naruto said wryly. "Never thought we'd meet someone who was even _more_ of a jerk than you."

"Shut up, _dobe_." Sasuke answered.

"_Teme._"

"Idiot."

"Jerk."

Sparks flew as the boys glared at each other. Sakura looked ready to slap someone. Most probably Naruto.

"Mr. Dickenson," Kakashi, tuning out the antics of his team leaned forward over the chairman's desk (The sharp smack of flesh hitting flesh was heard from behind him and a loud 'OW!' accompanied it). "_I_ understand that you have certain obligations to your team, but _you_ must understand that in order for us to do this job to our complete ability there must be no miscommunications between us."

Mr. Dickenson leaned back in his leather chair, which squeaked ominously beneath his weight. "Of course m'boy; whatever are you referring to?"

"I want to know what information you're withholding from us." Kakashi was never one to waste time on frivolous small talk.

Mr. Dickenson's eyebrows twitched downward "Withholding?"

"You told us that we were simply to accompany an international team as a precaution against accidents. You said nothing about planned interference. You've broken the trust in our agreement by withholding potentially crucial information. As the current highest ranking ninja, and therefore present representative of the Hokage, I will tell you under authority that Konoha does not deal with people who recklessly endanger the village's ninja."

"Now wait one moment!" Mr. Dickenson fell forward and slapped the palms on his hands on his desk. "I did no such thing!"

"Then tell me, who is this _Voltaire Hiwatari_ and what is his relationship with the Bladebreakers' team Captain?"

Mr. Dickenson, who had been in the middle of rising to his feet, suddenly plunged back into his seat heavily. "I see. So that is what you're talking about." He looked away.

"Of course. Now Mr. Dickenson, I suggest you be completely honest with us, or it will be our obligation to forgo this contract, by reason of loss of employer credibility."

"No, no… That won't be necessary." Mr. Dickenson rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I will tell you what you need to know." He stopped there for a few minutes, as though hoping the silence would discourage Kakashi. But the ninja was resolute, as were his students, and they stood there, silently regarding the man.

"Very well." Realizing they weren't going to let it go, Mr. Dickenson reluctantly continued. "As you heard, Voltaire Hiwatari is Kai's Grandfather. Now a couple of years ago there was some nasty business where Voltaire's company was using somewhat… unorthodox… means to fix the world championship tournament in Russia."

"By unorthodox you mean illegal." From Kakashi, the sentence was not a question.

Mr. Dickenson sighed, looked down, and nodded vaguely before continuing. "At that time, Voltaire expected Kai to follow him willingly. But when the boy revolted, turning his back on his Grandfather and even aiding in his downfall, Voltaire grew bitter and vengeful. The man has been flagged as a dangerous criminal in almost all countries except Russia."

"Why not Russia?" Kakashi asked.

"Voltaire has very high connections within the Russian government. In that country he is free to do as he pleases." Mr. Dickenson sounded tired.

"So you think he'll use this opportunity to try to get revenge on Kai." Kakashi didn't bother to make it a question. He was aware of the eyes of his team on his back.

"And his team, yes."

"Then why have the tournament in Russia? Couldn't you have it _anywhere _else?" Kakashi thought this was a perfectly reasonable solution.

"It wasn't my choice." Mr. Dickenson sighed. "The board of directors decides where the tournaments take place."

"And does this _board_ not have any sense, sending its athletes into a potentially hostile country?"

"One of Voltaire's suspected accomplices, a man named Boris Balkov, is a very prominent figure on this board."

"I see…" _Boris. _That was the second time Mr. Dickenson had mentioned that name. Kakashi pondered, for a moment, asking the man why he didn't just let his team skip this tournament, but with all the _other_ ridiculous behaviour going on unchecked, he decided he probably wouldn't get very far with that angle. "Well, what else can you tell me? Is the boy skilled in martial arts? Is there any background information I should know about him? Or the other team members? Any _other_ vengeful maniacs we should be on the lookout for?"

There was a pause as Mr. Dickenson drew in air and held it. "I… no" Mr. Dickenson said at length. "There is no one else you should be looking for. However, for your other concerns, I believe you should ask Kai. He, more than anyone, knows exactly what Voltaire is capable of." Kakashi knew, just by that statement, that Mr. Dickenson knew something he wasn't telling. But he decided to drop the topic for now.

"Very well. But speaking of Kai, there is one more thing I was wondering."

"Of course!" Mr. Dickenson was back to his cheerful mood.

"Have his eyes always been that colour?" Suddenly a silence, heavy and thick, fell over the group like a curtain as everyone, including Naruto, Sakura and especially Sasuke, listened avidly for the answer.

"Oh, ho, they are strange, aren't they?" Mr. Dickenson laughed. "But yes. I've known Kai since he was five years old and those eyes of his haven't darkened a shade."

Kakashi leaned back. _'Another mystery,_ _his eyes are real and yet they have the same colour as the Sharingan. Could the coincidence really be that great?'_

"I see." And Team 7 took their leave.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**',.-End, Chapter Three-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Hmm! So! The plot thickens! XD

**FairyDyris: **Hiya! So, you were wondering who 'Uzumaki' is? Well, actually, Naruto's last name is Uzumaki. I'm sorry about the confusion! It's true, you wouldn't have known Naruto's last name, I kinda made that assumption without properly thinking about it :p. I'm sorry again, and I added the clarification in this chapter; I hope that cleared everything up! (The blue guy you were talking about, his name is Kisame. Sasuke was actually talking about Tyson when he talked about the 'blue haired guy' in Chapter 2. Sasuke was comparing Tyson to Naruto.) I'm glad you found the chakra lesson useful (I did extra research on that, so I'm glad you found it helpful! XD). And you're right about the name of the fic(found out about Sasuke, did ya? ;d)… we'll have to see how _that _develops ;p. Hope you liked the chapter!

**Special Thanks **to those who reviewed**: Dreading **(Ha! You can't scare me off that easy! XD)**, blazingfire03 **(Thanks for sending me your opinions!)**, FlamingIce94, Keight Ylonen, Zodiac100001, vlissan, fawks136, Seven O'Clock Dinner, sasukoi, not the usual baka, terracannon876, StarShinobi, d1bontemp, Kais-lil-lover, Kai's-Suzaku, BloodRedViolet, FairyDyris, Nameless Little Girl, Mrs.MonkeyD.Hitachiinx3, bladz-liska, Haro Kzoids, ladyofwest, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Miharu-desu, Dani Hiwatari and stephvamp25! You're all amazing!**

**I AM IN NEED OF SOME HELP! **Please! If any of you know some Chinese, I need some help translating something specific. If anyone wouldn't mind loaning their talents (it's not a long translation, just a few words) I would be very, very grateful! Please tell me in a review or PM if you don't mind helping me out with this! Thank you so much!

**Adio!**


	4. ASSUMPTION: A Reason to Fight!

**_HIYA! Happy eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year!_**

**Author's Blurb: **Whoa… O.O 104 reviews…?!... Wow… (promptly faints)

**Special Thanks! **To all you kind folk who offered to help me out with the Chinese translation (and tolerated all my resulting questions! XD): **terracannon876**,**kavbj**,** Zodiac100001**,**Kerugin **and **hikarinosekai! **You'll probably have a leg up on the plot now, but don't tell anyone! XD We need to drag out the suspense a little, dontcha think? ;p

* * *

**EVERYONE! Please stop by and check out these two amazing fanarts done for this story!**

**The first fanart **is a beautifully drawn and coloured picture of Kai and Sasuke's 'glare-off' by **vlissan**, also known as **Doujinshi-ka **on DeviantArt. You can find her picture at this link (without the spaces): http: / / doujinshi-ka. deviantart. com/art/ Sharingan-Eyes-Fanart-92932926

**The second fanart **is an awesome pencil drawn picture of the angry tension between Kai and Sasuke by **StarShinobi**. You can find her picture at this link (without the spaces): http: / / starshinobi. deviantart. com/art/ He-Broke-It-First-93467623

**If these do not work! **Go to my profile page and click on the link to my DeviantArt page, you will find their work under my favourites.

* * *

**KEY: **

_'… Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

**_I_****I**_ …(italics)… **I**_**I **denote a change in language

**_I_****I**_ **…(bold)…**_ **_I_I **denote a second change in language

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_:-Sharingan Eyes-: _**

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

_…_

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

**_J. Gregory Keyes_**

**_Disclaimer: _**Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-Chapter Four-.,'_**

_SCARY ASSUMPTION: A Reason to Fight!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

By the time Team 7 finally caught up with the Bladebreakers, the latter had already finished whatever training they were doing, much to Naruto and Sakura's disappointment. As they walked up to the park where the Bladebreakers had been practicing Tyson came storming out, stuffing something shiny into his pocket angrily while grumbling to himself. Max and Kenny were hurrying behind him while Rei and Hilary followed at a more leisured pace. Upon spotting the ninja though, Rei made a subtle turn and—motioning the confused Hilary to go on without him—moved to the exit at the opposite end of the park. Kakashi eyed the exit suspiciously, spotting the edge of a long white scarf just disappearing into the trees.

"I can't believe it! He calls ME stubborn?! ME?! Stubborn? Pig-headed?! I can't believe it! He is practically the DEFINITION of stubborn. If you looked up stubborn in the dictionary there would be a life sized, fold-out POSTER of him!... UGH!... And closed minded! How—how… UGH!"

"Well… Tyson… You have to admit, you weren't listening to anything he was suggesting."

"That's because he doesn't _suggest_ things! He orders them! '_Tyson do this, Tyson do that. Tyson you're a complete moron who couldn't spot a good opportunity if it was a triple cheeseburger with dressing, fries and a soda!' _"

Max paused. "…Uh, Tyson? Kai never said that."

Tyson didn't even hesitate. "Well he might as well have! I mean, where does he get off ordering us around anyway? He might be the oldest, but I'M world champion. **_I_** should be captain. I know better than him how to lead a team. Right Maxie?"

"Uh, uh… Oh look! It's the guys from the Leaf village! Hey, over here!" Max cried overenthusiastically waving frantically to Team 7. To Sakura he mouthed the words 'Save me'. She grinned at him and took pity.

"Hey, Tyson." She interrupted. The boy looked up. "That man we were just talking to, Mr… Uh—"

"Dickenson?" Hilary supplied. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, him." Sakura glanced back at Tyson. "He said that we should all spend the night at your dojo so we won't have to do any extra running around tomorrow morning."

"MY place?!" Tyson's jaw dropped, effectively distracted. "With MY Gramps?! You can't be serious." At the confused looks he got from the ninja, Tyson sighed. "My Gramps is a bit… a bit… crazy when it comes to martial arts and training and stuff. If he meets you guys…" He let the sentence trail off suggestively.

"I don't get it," Naruto cocked his head. "If he's interested, I could always challenge him to a—"

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried, aghast. "You can't do that!"

"Whyyy?" Naruto drew out the word, pouting.

"Because! It's unethical! They're citizens; they can't use chakra like us! A fight wouldn't be fair!"

"Now wait a minute." Tyson broke in, a challenging gleam in his eyes. Max and Kenny recognized the look the look and groaned.

Hilary frowned and put her hands on her hips. "This is your 'I'm going to do something stupid' face, isn't it?" She said. Tyson shot her a glare but focused back on Naruto and Sakura.

"Just wait just a sec, I get that this chakra thing of yours gives you some nice abilities and stuff, but my Grandfather is a great kendo master. And you can't fake that kind of talent." Tyson's insinuations brought an indignant look to Naruto's face.

"Are you saying we're cheaters?" Naruto took a step closer to Tyson.

"Well, this whole chakra thing sounds like… well… like you're taking the _easy_ way out." Tyson grinned.

"Oie! Any time, any place! I'll show you just what this chakra of mine is capable of, believe it!" The two boys locked eyes, clenched their fists and glaring daggers at each other.

"STOP IT!" Twin cries surprised the boys and they fell back with gasps of surprise. Hilary and Sakura exchanged looks, blushing a little as they realized they had spoke at the same time.

Kakashi chuckled and all eyes went to him. He was leaning back on a nearby tree, his nose deep in a colourful book with the picture of a boy running after a girl on the front. His voice floated back to the group. "It seems like we both have a common interest then."

"Huh?" The group was confused.

"Well, you want to see what our chakra is capable of." He sent a lazy look at Tyson, and though the navy haired boy sniffed, he didn't contest the point. "And we wish to see what your Beyblades can do." This time Naruto perked up and Tyson sent the blond boy an incredulous look.

"You don't know what Beyblade is?" Tyson asked.

Naruto shook his head.

Tyson's eyes widened. "How is that even possible??"

Kakashi looked up. "I propose a little demonstration."

"Demonstration?" Max echoed.

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Yes! It's perfect, after all, we ARE supposed to be your bodyguards, so it would be good for you to see a little of what we can do. And in return we can learn about your sport."

"But you're trained fighters. It wouldn't be fair for us to fight you." Hilary said hesitantly.

"Then let's not." Kenny suddenly spoke. Everyone looked at the small boy and he shifted the laptop in his hands. "Well it's obvious, isn't it? Two of us will demonstrate a little Beybattle and two of your fighters can do what you do. We still have plenty of time left today. We can head over to the Granger's house, drop off your things, have lunch and head over to the docks. There should be enough open space there."

"I'm game, if you are." Tyson shot a look at Naruto.

"You're on!" Naruto grinned widely.

"Team that impresses the other most wins."

"Oh yeah, you got it! So where's your house?"

"This way! Let's go!" And the two boys rushed off down the street, a cloud of dust rising in their wake.

Max blinked. "Well… then… ok_ay-y_…"

"They're really competitive, aren't they?" Sakura's eyebrows rose.

"Well, Tyson is always jumping to a challenge." Max said absently.

"Naruto too." Sakura responded.

"They're really kind of scary together, aren't they?" Hilary added, receiving nods.

"Is this really a good idea though?" Max asked curiously, looked at Sakura.

"I don't see anything wrong with it." Sakura answered, slightly confused about the point Max was trying to make.

"Well," he scratched the side of his head, smiling disarmingly. "Aren't you supposed to be kind of secretive, or something? Rei told us you were… shadow walkers… or something. So shouldn't you not want to show your skills or something? Just in case…"

Sakura's eyes widened at the blonde boy's perceptiveness. "Wow, I never thought of that… I guess we just figured that since you wouldn't be able to copy what we do anyway—"

"Actually, it's more of a reassurance for you." Kakashi was suddenly behind Max, causing Max, Kenny and Hilary all to yelp and jump away from the ninja. Sakura just looked up, well used to her teacher's tendency to pop up out of nowhere. "We need you to understand who we are, and what we can do so that if the situation _does_ arise where we need to you duck or hide, you will do it without any question."

"We need to be _that_sure of your ability?" Max asked, staring up uneasily at the masked man. For some reason, this guy kind of creeped Max out. Maybe it was his whitish hair, which stuck up wildly on the top of his head. Or maybe it was the fact that only one eye on his face was visible. Or maybe the guy was just creepy in general.

"You do. If you want to live." Kakashi's solemn words left the group in an uncomfortable silence.

Yeah, definitely creepy.

After a few moments though, Hilary couldn't take the awkwardness. "So! Shouldn't we be going back to Tyson's? Otherwise by the time we arrive there won't be any food left!"

Hilary's attempt to start a conversation failed as Max and Kenny just turned and started walking to Tyson's house in silence, everyone else following without a word. Hilary fidgeted, then tried again.

"Sakura! So, which of you are going to fight, do you think?"

Sakura looked up and smiled, also relieved for the distraction. "Well, Naruto, for one. And, well, I think Sasuke would be the best choice, but he'd have to agree. What do you think, Sasuke?" She turned to look behind her, then paused when her eyes met only air and trees.

"What is it?" Hilary looked behind herself too, looking at the empty road.

"Sasuke… he's gone."

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Sasuke straightened from his crouch. Ten feet off the ground, he perched precariously from a thin tree branch with the confident grace of a bird. Ninja technique 101, tree hopping. It was a simple technique, and like all ninja techniques, he excelled at it.

It was what Sasuke did. His single minded drive to slay his brother focused him as though he wore blinders. Oriented like a compass on his goal, he saw only what would further his talents, make him stronger, faster, smarter, more able to fight against his ultimate adversary. Sasuke didn't do diversions. He didn't allow himself the petty distractions that wasted his time and his energy when he could be doing something more useful with both.

…So why was he currently hiding in a tree, tracking a boy who he barely knew—had never even spoken to?

Sasuke scowled. This was annoying. That _guy_ was annoying. Who the hell did he think he was anyway? Going around with eyes like that… red as freshly split blood, surrounded by a thick line of charcoal eyelashes, completely devoid of emotion.

That moment in the meeting room, when their eyes had met, Sasuke didn't know what had happened. He'd seen something in the other's eyes that disturbed him, angered him to an unbearable degree. But he'd been unable to pull his eyes away.

And then that _guy _had just looked away, dismissed Sasuke like he wasn't even worth his time!

He shouldn't care. What did it matter to him anyway? This pathetic boy wasn't even a chakra user; he should be beneath him, unworthy of his time. He was so outside of Sasuke's set blinders that he shouldn't even have glanced twice at him.

But he had. And that… that, _Kai_ had dismissed him!

Sasuke's scowl deepened.

There was something about Kai's eyes: the way they slanted, or the void within them… That perfectly calm look: antipathy at its finest… A look that conveyed knowledge, held deep like a murky pond whose bottom was out of sight… It reminded him so much of…

"… And I'm worried…" Voices floated up from below and Sasuke crouched back down as the rustling leaves heralded their entrance.

Kai came first, his stride long and assured. His abnormally long scarf trailing the wind in his wake, Sasuke eyed the fluttering material depreciatingly. It was a useless thing: so long, it would hamper movement, and too short to be useful as a weapon. If anything, it would be grabbed by an enemy and used to strangle the foolish boy. Sasuke scowled, feeling his irrational anger grow. Why would this idiot's abysmal sense of fashion bother him? Why? Sasuke resisted the urge to throw a kunai into the boy's back and instead focused on the black-haired Chinese following him.

"I mean, I know they're here on a mission, and missions take precedence over all in their minds…" The Chinese's voice sounded unsure and Sasuke quickly figured out what he was talking about.

_'He thinks we're going to stab them in the back.' _Sasuke raised one eyebrow, eyes closing half-way. He wasn't surprised. In fact he would have expected no less, if this boy actually was a _Xun Shou Shi,_ as he suspected.

"But I just don't trust them. They're too stuck in their ways, and their values are completely skewed. Life and death are like throwing stones to them…"

_'Not quite.' _Sasuke corrected, silently.

"Their power, their chakra, has been moulded, strengthened, for generations upon generations. They could choose to do anything with it but they use it selfishly, without scruples. They have the power to heal, but they use it to raise the dead as slaves, instead of curing the sick. They have the power to move the Earth, but they use it to crush their foes instead of building shelter for the poor…"

Sasuke frowned. There was something about this boy's words that rubbed him the wrong way. He had no right to judge Sasuke's kind as right or wrong, especially since he knew nothing about the ways of the ninja. They fought to protect those who could not protect themselves. They fought against the destruction of their lives and their homes. They fought to return honour to their family…

But what did he know anyway? He was _Chinese_; he was being hypocritical if he thought he could lecture ninja on _their_ morals.

The two boys were getting out of his line of sight so Sasuke shifted, jumping soundlessly to another tree branch.

"I just think it would be better if we went on our own. I mean, what do we need them for anyway? We've been to Russia before, what could possibly happen there which we need ninja for? We're perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves… don't you think, Kai?" For the first time in his speech, Rei seemed to expect an answer. When none came, he stopped.

"Kai?" He asked, expectantly.

There was a short silence, then a low voice spoke: slow and deliberate. Sasuke leaned in.

"Rei…Why are you telling me this." The tone was not questioning.

"I… I… augh, _Kai_." Rei sighed, sounding both exasperated and embarrassed. "I supposed there's no point, since your hands are tied as well. Mr. Dickenson's the only one who could authorize… or _un-authorize _this. But talking to him is like talking to a sponge. He'll soak it all up and then you'll never hear about it again, at least with you…" From his perch, Sasuke could see one dark blue eyebrow slowly rise as Kai regarded the younger boy in silence. Rei sighed again. "Never mind. I just needed someone to vent to. Thanks for listening. Kai."

With that, Rei turned and walked back up the path. His eyes stayed glued to the path, passing cleanly under the tree where Sasuke perched without pausing.

Sasuke paid him no heed. His attention was on the figure remaining among the trees. Kai stood still, back straight, staring intently at something Sasuke couldn't see. Slowly, he turned and Sasuke got a glimpse of red eyes as Kai turned to follow Rei. But as Kai passed under Sasuke's tree he halted, and Sasuke froze. It wasn't possible, Kai couldn't have seen him, he'd been perfectly silent, disguising his presence perfectly, there was no way…

But Kai was moving again. He passed the tree and kept walking as though he'd never stopped, but it was only once he was completely out of sight that Sasuke allowed himself to relax. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and leaned his side against the tree trunk.

He was relieved Kai hadn't seen him. More relieved than he rightfully should have been. Why should he care if some red-eyed kid could do some cheap trick: spotting hidden ninja?

But the truth was… He'd figured out why Kai seemed so familiar. That posture, the disaffected attitude and emotionless eyes had all been hints; but it had been the slow, deliberate drawl of his voice that had sparked that realization.

Kai reminded him… of Itachi.

This nobody: a face in a sea of others… reminded him of his hated older brother. The man who had calmly massacred an entire clan of fully trained ninja without breaking a sweat… The man Sasuke lived to kill… to avenge his family…

And it made him… it made him…

…It made him uneasy

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Eventually, everyone had meandered their way to the Granger's dojo. Last to arrive was Sasuke, who had sauntered up to the group, seemingly lost in deep thought, hands thrust into his pockets, ignoring Sakura's demands of where he'd been.

Gathered in front of the house, Tyson motioned vehemently for everyone to keep quiet. Then, among the curious stares of Team 7—and his own team's eye rolling—he slid open the paper door and peered cautiously over the wooden floors and paper wall dividers of his suspiciously empty house.

"Ok! I can't see him… but he could still be in another room, we can go in quietly and—"

"Uh… Tyson?"

"Quiet, Maxie! I'm trying to plan here!"

There was a pause. Someone sniggered.

"Tyson…" Rei ventured.

"Shh!" Tyson hissed. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Now, if we can get past the entrance, we can sneak into the kitchen and grab a—"

"YO HOMIE! WHAT'S THE 10/4 ON THE 911, DAWG?!"

"YAAAAAA-!" Tyson jumped a foot in the air before swinging around, his eyes huge. "GRANDPA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"WHAT DO **YOU** THINK **YOU'RE**DOING, DAWG?! IF YOU'RE GONNA SNEAK, DO IT WITH STYLE! AND NEVER, EVER GET CAUGHT, MAN!" An elderly man in a Hawaiian style t-shirt, with a long moustache and neatly cropped ponytail yelled back.

"BUT GRANDPA, I—"

"NO EXCUSES; NOW GET INSIDE! WE NEED TO HAVE A LITLE TALK!!"

"AWWW… GRAMPS, NOT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES AGAIN!" Everyone present widened their eyes fractionally at this comment.

"NAW, THAT WAS LAST WEEK. THIS WEEK WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE MAGAZINES I FOUND UNDER YOUR MATRESS!"

**_"GRANDPA!!"_**

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi stood there is mute shock... and somewhat deafened, as the strange, hyper old man grabbed Tyson by the back of his shirt and bodily hauled him off around the corner of the house, brandishing a long, wooden shinai dangerously as he went.

"Is he…" Naruto's finger pointed at the air, shaking a little as he stared at the retreating duo. "Is he…"

"He's a little…" Sakura looked like she was trying to find a nice way to say what she wanted to say.

"Well, he didn't look like a threat." Kakashi was relatively lackluster about the entire thing, though he stuck one pinky in his ear, twisting it as though he'd temporarily lost his hearing.

"Mr. Granger is a little… eccentric." Hilary said, hesitantly. "But he's more or less harmless. He won't do anything to Tyson. Besides, it takes more than a stick to get through Tyson's hard skull anyway." She smirked.

"Well, let's go in. Tyson won't mind if we eat without him." Max guided the group into the building.

"Are you kidding? Of course he'll mind!" Kenny argued.

"Sure, but this way, without Tyson the human vacuum cleaner around, we have a better chance of actually getting any food!" Dizzy piped in from Kenny's hands. There was no disputing this logic and Kenny relented, walking in front of Max in order to guide the group toward the kitchen.

"Hey, do you know if he has any Ramen?" Naruto poked his head over Max's shoulder.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura tugged Naruto back. "Give him an inch and he'll eat you right out of house and home." She warned Max.

Max just laughed. "Don't worry," he said as he passed the threshold of the door. "With how Tyson eats, this house is stocked with enough food to feed a small army."

With that, Hilary, Naruto and Sakura followed Max into the house, Rei trailing behind. After Rei disappeared through the door though an awkward silence befell the remaining males on the porch.

Kai was standing with his back against the side of the house, making no move to enter after his team. Kakashi stood at the doorway, his usual manga held before him, but his eyes were not on the pages. Instead they rested calmly on his young prodigy. Sasuke stood a few paces in front of his teacher, his posture was indifferent as usual, but there was an unusual amount of tension in his face. The definition of the dark-haired boy's jaw-line was obvious as his teeth clenched together; the tendons in his neck protruded as his head turned to the side and his eyes were cold as they stared unblinking at Kai.

Sasuke didn't seem to be in any hurry to enter the house either. At least, not before Kai did.

Kakashi considered saying something, like pointing out how melodramatic the boys were being… or how petty… but Kai moved before he could form the words.

Sliding off the wall, Kai turned, and without glancing up, walked into the house.

Sasuke followed immediately afterward, though making sure to keep a safe distance between them.

Kakashi found himself alone and suddenly brimming with many smart and wise pieces of advice with no one to tell them to. Ah, but if only genius could have been rushed, these comments would have served him well just a few seconds ago. Kakashi sighed, then shrugged, pulling out a pencil and jotting down a few notes in the margin of his manga.

It never hurt to be prepared.

Inside the house, the group had spread out around the kitchen and adjoining sitting room. Max and Naruto were scavenging through the fridge while Hilary and Sakura stood nearby, gazing outside a window and holding coloured drinks. Kenny was seated at the table, a bowl of seaweed flavoured potato chips sitting idly before him while he typed away madly on Dizzy. Rei meanwhile, sat alone on one of the chairs in the sitting room, brooding silently on something only he knew.

Kai and Sasuke were both standing, but while Kai stood in one corner of the sitting room, Sasuke had situated himself at the polar opposite of the kitchen, as far away as he could possibly manage from the other boy without physically leaving the group.

If Kakashi noticed this, he made no indication of it.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**',.-End, Chapter Four-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

…(still unconscious)

**Sealink: **HI! Thanks for the great review! It's wonderful to hear that this story makes you excited since, I think, my biggest fear is that my excess details and characterizations make people bored XD Anyway, there was tension galore in this chapter, hope you liked!

**Sciura: **MWA HA HAA! (Laughs evilly) I have converted you! Now you will enjoy BOTH stories and I will be able to enjoy reviews from you for BOTH stories! YAY! XD And yes, actually the chance to write the character confrontations is why I wanted to write this fic ;p And I'm glad you think it's funny (or something, I'll take what I can get!) 'cause I tried really hard with the humour (sheepish grin).

**Saki: **Hey! Not much, wassup with you? XD You are very, very right, I love writing Kai and Sasuke is proving quite the fun challenge (making him the same… yet different from Kai, is… interesting, lemme say XP). Alright! So, to answer your questions: I will explain all your Naruto related questions as the story progresses, but as a short explanation… Sharingan is a bloodline ability which runs in Sasuke's family. It gives them special powers for their eyes, as well as turning them red. And as for Rei, it's not that he hates _Japanese… _He just hates ninja… XD And he has a good reason, trust me! ;p I'm sorry that the explanations are a little short, but I can't make the response too long here (I'm technically not allowed to make long in-chapter review responses XD). But it'll all be explained… eventually ;D

**Gadget: **Heya! Thankies for the really nice review! :D I have to say that I never like it when Kai or Sasuke are portrayed as the 'classic emo in a corner' (how accurate XD), so instead of just making them moody and depressed, I tried to figure out _why _they acted moody and depressed. From my other story, I've now had some experience writing Kai, but Sasuke's new… and fun ;p He's really quite different from Kai when you think about it… like… he talks a WHOLE lot more (though probably not in this chapter XD)… which is GREAT 'cause writing Kai say stuff without him actually…er… _saying _stuff is difficult (am I even making sense here? XD) . Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**Kerugin:** Thank you for the review and thank you for your help with the translation. I did end up going with the other one in the end, but I'm very grateful you took the time to help me with this! Do you have any idea where I'm going with that little Chinese bit, by the way? ;p

**Irish potatoes: **(Grin) Hey, I know how you feel about Sasuke. After he rebelled and joined Orochimaru I was a little upset with him too… But I hope that I did place the story during the time when you actually were interested in him XD. I have to say that when I first saw Sasuke he reminded me a lot of Kai, which is why I wanted to start this fic… but then I watched a few more episodes and I realized that the two are actually very different: in how they think, and how they react to stress and how easily they jump to anger (Sasuke clearly has some anger management issues XD)… I also made Kai older than Sasuke to show this difference even more clearly. Anyway, whoohoo! I'm glad you like it! And I hope you enjoyed the chappie!

**Thanks **to everyone who reviewed**: XSilentX-XShadowsX, ****blazingfire03, BloodRedViolet, sasukoi **(Sorry I didn't respond to that last PM! I got kinda busy… but be warned, I'll STILL get you!)**, ****terracannon876, Yuliya, ****StarShinobi, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, ****kavbj, ****Mirai-Vegetto, not the usual baka, BlackRoseAmaranth, ****fawks136, Sealink, Mrs.MonkeyD.Hitachiinx3, vlissan, lady KCassandra, Miharu-desu, Sciura, stephvamp25, ****Nameless Little Girl, d1bontemp, Saki, ****FairyDyris, Zodiac100001, Elves of the Moon, Gadget, Thegoldenlock, .SeNo.thousand promises, Kerugin, Dani Hiwatari, Irish Potatoes, Haro kzoids, beybladeingninjaprincess **(times two! XD),**bladz-liska **and** Dreading!**... Hee, hee, there's nothing like getting a review to give you a high; thankies, everyone!

* * *

**Once again! Please check out the two wonderful fanarts for this fic!**

**By vlissan: **http: / / doujinshi-ka. deviantart. com/art/ Sharingan-Eyes-Fanart-92932926

**By StarShinobi: **http: / / starshinobi. deviantart. com/art/ He-Broke-It-First-93467623

**Thanks!**

**Adio!**


	5. MISFORTUNE: Murphy's Law Strikes!

**_HIYA!_**

**Author's Blurb: **YAY! I'm officially 19 since… well… last month, but this is my first update as a legal adult so nothing can bring down my cheer, not even the fact that school has started!... Ok, maybe that brings it down… just a _little_…

* * *

**KEY: **

_'… Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

**_I_****I**_ …(italics)… **I**_**I **denote a change in language

**_I_****I**_ **…(bold)…**_ **_I_I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_:-Sharingan Eyes-: _**

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

_…_

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

**_J. Gregory Keyes_**

**_Disclaimer:_** Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-Chapter Five-.,'_**

_MISFORTUNE: Murphy's Law Strikes!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Lunch was a quick and efficient affair.

Everyone was too excited about the upcoming fights to eat much, so once Tyson rejoined the group he only had a few seconds to grab a couple of bananas from the counter before he was unceremoniously grabbed and hauled away by Naruto. The blond somehow managed to drag him a block and a half down the street before Tyson could splutter out that they were heading in the wrong direction.

Arriving at the pier, Kakashi took in a breath of the tangy, sea-tinged air and looked out at the open docks.

"It's too open." He said simply.

"Huh?" Max looked up. "Why?"

"Anyone could see us here and get curious." Sakura supplied.

"Why does that matter?" Hilary raised an eyebrow.

Standing a little away from the group, Rei scoffed quietly. "_Ninja_" He didn't say it in a complimentary tone. "Always so high and mighty with their secrecy."

Kakashi eyed the youth from the corner of his vision. "Actually, someone could get it in their heads that we're doing something fun and exciting and try to get a closer look. I don't think _either_ of us want some innocent bystander to get hurt." Rei's back was to him, but Kakashi could see a touch of red rising in his neck, from embarrassment or anger, he couldn't tell.

Max looked at Rei's back, then to Kakashi, silently asking what was going on between them, though he received no answer.

"Well…" Kenny spoke up, oblivious to the tension. "We could always do it in one of the warehouses. The ones further down the harbour are always empty this time of the year."

Eyeing one of the warehouses near them, mentally sizing it up, Kakashi nodded his consent.

As the group headed to the end of the pier, Hilary felt that they needed to get some things in order before they got there. "So!" She piped up. "Who's going to fight? And who's going to go first? You or us?" She asked ambiguously to the air, not addressing anyone yet hoping someone would answer her.

"I AM!"

"I AM!"

Twin shouts rang out from Tyson and Naruto, who had been fooling around dangerously close to the edge of the dock. Hilary looked up at them in surprise, not even aware that they had been listening to the conversation.

"What're you talking about? I'M going first!" Tyson shouted at Naruto.

"What! NO! I am!" Naruto yelled back.

"We live here!"

"So!? We're the guests!"

"There's no way I'm letting you do all your crazy ninja stuff before us! You might bewitch the place so that I'll loose or something!"

"Would not! We're honourable ninjas, believe it! And you can't say nothin'! We don't know anything about your Beyblades! For all we know you could make the building collapse right on top of us!"

The two boys bickered heatedly back and forth until a calm voice interrupted their banter.

"Umm… Why don't we just flip a coin?" Sakura said, shrugging and raising an eyebrow at Hilary, who returned it with a lopsided smirk.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Huh?" Tyson looked up from where Naruto had wedged his head under the ninja's arm. "What'd you say?"

"A _coin_." Sakura reiterated, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Let's flip a coin. And get off him, Naruto!"

Tyson and Naruto broke away from each other and everyone searched their pockets for spare change. A general groan rippled through the teens as they realized they hadn't brought any money with them and with a reluctant sigh, Rei walked over and handed Hilary a coin.

Of course, fates would have it that the coin landed on an angle and rolled away, falling straight into a gutter.

Rei stared unhappily at the spot where his change had disappeared. "Why am I not surprised?"

After a few minutes of further discussion on how to solve the conundrum (Naruto suggested that they flip a kunai knife, and see if it landed point down, but that idea was squashed by Hilary would was unsettled by the thought of the blond haired boy throwing around sharp objects—this comment garnered a flabbergasted look from Naruto and a burst of laughter from Sakura. Then they tried spinning a kunai, but when it stopped, it remained pointing perfectly between Tyson and Naruto, so that didn't work out either.), the group eventually settled on a nice, simple game of rock, paper scissors. After hitting the same sign three times in a row, a winner was finally decided.

"YES! OH YEAH! IN YOUR FACE, UZUMAKI!" Tyson leapt for joy as he bounced around an annoyed Naruto who grumbled to himself.

"Knew I should've stuck with rock…" Then Naruto's face lit up with sudden inspiration. "Oh yeah? Well… I never wanted to go first anyway!" He retorted.

Tyson stopped bouncing. "You so did! What was all that stuff you were saying before then?"

"I was being nice! I never wanted to go first! Now we'll get to see all YOUR secrets before we show you ours!" Naruto grinned smugly.

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah! I'm GLAD we're going second!"

Tyson spluttered. "Bu-Bu—_I_ won the rock-paper-scissors! I should get to choose if we go first or second!"

"Uh-uh! You already chose!"

"I take it back then!"

"You can't take it back!"

"I just did!"

And the rest of the group sighed collectively as the bickering continued.

Hanging back near the end of the group, Kakashi walked alongside a sullen Sasuke. Kakashi sent his student a long look. The boy was walking with his eyes trained on the ground, as though the cement below him was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. His eyes never strayed from the ground yet he never missed a turn, keeping pace with Kakashi with ease. It was almost impressive, how aware he was of his surroundings, even without the use of his prized eyes.

"Sasuke."

The dark haired boy looked up at Kakashi's quiet call, pinning his teacher with suspicious eyes.

"_Nani?_" _'What?'_ He asked shortly.

Kakashi couldn't help the quirk of his lips. _'Ah Sasuke, ever the polite one.'_ "I want you to walk ahead with Naruto, Sakura and the others."

"Why?" Sasuke's suspicion deepened.

"I need to talk with someone." Kakashi let his eye stray over to the only person walking behind them.

Now Sasuke's frown darkened tenfold. "You want to talk to _him._"A scowl curled his lip as he spoke.

At this, Kakashi raised an eyebrow, mildly taken aback by the hostility the youth was projecting. "When did you start to dislike him so much? Did something happen when you followed hm and the Chinese boy into the woods?"

Sasuke clenched his teeth.

"I don't dislike him." Dark eyes latched onto Kai Hiwatari with a look of utter loathing. "I _hate _him."

And Sasuke quickened his step, walking away from Kakashi and toward the rest of the group.

Kakashi watched Sasuke's retreating form with a shadow of a frown on his face. It was not normal, or healthy, how fast Sasuke's emotions toward this boy were escalating. Not even Naruto, with whom Sasuke was a bitter rival, garnered this level of dislike. If he didn't get this under control, soon, he might have to start worrying about more than just _outside _threats to the Bladebreakers.

Kakashi looked behind him.

Kai walked with a steady, unhurried step, eyes straight ahead and hands calmly placed in his pockets. He did not look like he was following anyone. Instead he had the air of someone walking on their own, with someplace important to be, and that place just happened to be in the direction everyone else was going.

_'What a character.'_

Kakashi slowed his step until he was more or less next to Kai. The burden of walking next to the teen was completely on him, as Kai didn't slow down or hasten his step to match Kakashi's.

Kakashi again wondered at the merit of this so called 'Team Captain'. But he couldn't deny the fact that this boy intrigued him. There was a way to tell a person's entire life by looking at their face: identifying the lines of wear, the pull of the lips, the curve of the jaw… But these arts were usually left for the more abstract practices of medic nins or fortune tellers, and Kakashi himself didn't believe that these methods held much water in the real world.

But there was one thing Kakashi knew, and it was that a person's innocence was reflected in their eyes. Kakashi had slain his own share of assassins, murderers and scoundrels in his day, but he had also done things he wasn't that proud of: he had slain innocents as well…the job of a ninja was as grey as smoke when it came to separating right and wrong.

Kakashi like to see the eyes of the people he slew. It was not some sick obsession, where he enjoyed seeing the last light of life flicker out from their eyes. No, he forced himself to look at the person he killed so he would never loose sight of what he was. He was a murderer. For good or for bad, he killed people: snuffed out life with a single stroke of his blade or a punch to the head… there was not reconciling that. And he could never forget the fact that achievement and success always came at a steep price. He was one who fought at the highest of levels, where the very lives of the participants were at stake. And he refused to hide from that, because a ninja who started to take life lightly was a dead ninja.

And he didn't just mean in body.

Kakashi had seen the eyes of the damned: cold, and heartless. He had seen the eyes of the innocent: Wide and uncomprehending to the very last; the eyes of the wise: understanding, forgiving. And he had seen the eyes of the jaded: shuttered and suspicious.

The last was the eyes of a ninja. Kakashi's own eyes were like that.

But looking at the eyes of his students: Sakura had the eyes of an innocent. However old she tried to act, there was still a difference between knowing what hardship was, and _living _it.

Naruto was on the edge. From his own life: being ostracized and picked on as a child, then finding out he housed the nine-tailed demon fox, _Kyuubi,_ within his own body, he understood some of the more vile aspects of human nature. But having been deprived of a family since infancy served as both a blessing and a curse: though it made him crave any sort of human interaction, it also spared him from the pain of loss.

Sasuke… Sasuke was a problem. The exact opposite of Naruto and yet exactly the same, he had lost his entire family in one fell swoop. The shock of not only loosing his entire family at such a young age, but the added pain of his only living relative being the one responsible, drove him to extremes. Sasuke lived in a closed world, unaccepting of others, blind to kindness and cut off from reality. In his own way, Sasuke was terribly naïve; he had convinced himself that the word was evil—that positive emotions and distractions were a waste of time—and he refused to believe anything else. Naruto was not a friend, but a rival; Sakura was not an innocent girl with a crush, but an annoyance. Sasuke's eyes were jaded, but they were a mask, hiding his true, vulnerable nature under layer upon layer of distrust, grief and desire for revenge.

Looking at these new children, they were all innocent: Max, Tyson, Kenny and Hilary. In some ways it was nice to see children so carefree and guileless. At Konoha, children were trained at a very young age to start acting like adults. Responsibility to the family: honour, courage and fearlessness, was all pushed on children who were too young to understand such concepts. They grow up then, into cocksure teens and eager adults, ready to sacrifice themselves for their family—eager to throw away their lives like spare change.

Kakashi believed in choice. That it should be the choice of a child, or a teen or an adult to give their own life. Not the response expected by culture and ideals set by a board of old men. There was a difference—between choice and brainwashing. The path of a ninja was not an easy one and to become one was not a decision a three year-old should be forced to make.

Rei's eyes were interesting. They seemed to convey some knowledge, but Rei himself acted with the childish, closed-mindedness so common of the old days. True, the ninja had never gotten along with the _Xun Shou Shi_, but Rei could at least make some effort to act with maturity. He was of the new generation, it did not behove him to act like a victim when he was not the one who suffered. His obvious discrimination was getting tedious.

And then there was the last member of the group.

Kai.

Kakashi looked at the pale boy walking next to him. Kai's eyes had been a surprise. And not necessarily in a good way.

Kai had eyes like him.

Piercing, distrustful and apathetic, Kai had stared at him for mere seconds in Mr. Dickenson's office. Yet, in that moment, a world of knowledge had passed between them.

What sort of a life gave a mere child of seventeen years eyes like that?

The eyes of a ninja.

Kakashi let his eyelid fall half-mast lazily.

"You have quite the team." He drawled.

A few seconds passed in silence, then a few more. Obviously Kai didn't deign the comment necessary of an answer.

"Tell me, how does a Captain who never talks train his students?"

He hadn't been expecting an answer but after a few seconds a low, smooth voice slid through the quiet.

"As well as one who never watches them."

Kakashi couldn't quite stop one eyebrow from rising, but suppressed his amusement before it hit his eyes. Quite the character indeed! Kakashi let his eye fall on the boy, but Kai's expression hadn't changed. He was still watching the air before his nose with the same interest Sasuke had bestowed on the ground earlier.

"OIE! SASUKE-TEME!" Naruto's boisterous shout cut through anything Kakashi was going to say to Kai. "ARE YOU GONNA FIGHT ME OR ARE YA CHICKEN?"

"Shut up, _dobe_." Came the inevitable answer.

"CHICKEN! CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN—"

"Alright! Whatever! I'll fight you. Just _shut-the-hell-up!_"

Kakashi looked over to see Sasuke glaring darkly at Naruto who was jumping around him happily. Somehow he didn't think the Uchiha was as upset about getting the chance to fight Naruto as he was acting.

"HEY! KAI!" Tyson's yell, an eerie echo to Naruto's, floated back to Kakashi and Kai. "YOU'RE GONNA FIGHT ME TOO, RIGHT?"

Kai's response came faster than it ever had to Kakashi.

"No."

Tyson ground to a halt. And everyone quietened.

"What?! Why?! We haven't had a match for ages! It would be perfect! I can prove that you were wrong when you called me an' Dragoon pigheaded!"

Kai's eyes swept the air before landing pointedly on the navy-haired boy. "I said no, Tyson."

And that was it. No teasing, no poking fun, no name calling, none of the things Naruto would have done to Sasuke. Tyson just backed off and turned to Rei instead.

"Yo Rei, since the sour-puss is in one of his moods, hows about you and I show these rookies how it's done?"

Kakashi was looking at Sasuke, and he didn't miss the way the teen's jaw tightened; his back was to Kai but his face was turned in profile, showing his visible eye skimming over Kai spitefully. He was upset, Kakashi realized; Sasuke was upset that Kai seemed to hold some unspoken power over his team that Sasuke himself could not imitate with Naruto.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Sasuke… was jealous?

"Ah, Tyson… umm… not this time. Driger still needs some tunes ups… and… you know…" Rei fidgeted, looking away. And, though Tyson didn't ask, Kenny shook his head in negation. Hilary didn't even bother looking up.

Tyson puffed out his cheeks. "What's up with you guys? You're always ready for a match, I bet if Daichi was here he'd back me up in a second…" Tyson looked around until his eyes fell on the only blader he hadn't appealed to. "Max! I guess it's just you and me, buddy!"

Max sent Tyson a small frown of disapproval. "Gee, _thanks _Tyson. Good to know you can settle for _just _me."

Tyson's smile dropped. "Oh Maxie! You know I didn't mean it like that, man! I know you always got my back! It's just, me an' Kai got some unfinished business… and you and me, we're always battling! I haven't gone against Rei for—"

Max laughter broke through Tyson's floundering apology. "Relax Ty; don't worry about it, I know you didn't mean anything by it."

Tyson let out a breath of air, grinning in relief. "Thanks buddy, so, we're cool?" He held out a fist.

"Yeah, we're cool." Max bopped Tyson's fist with his own.

Naruto, walking a few feet away from the boys, had his hands in his pockets as he kicked at some loose pebbles on the ground.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sakura walked up to join her friend.

"Oh! Sakura-chan!" Naruto blushed. "I-it's nothing."

"Tell me." She urged.

"…" Naruto hesitated, his eyes on something past her elbow. "Well…" He couldn't figure out how to say it, so he just blurted it out. "They're all so happy!"

"Huh?" Sakura cocked her head in confusion.

"Well, just look! Max coulda gotten offended or hurt that Tyson picked him last, but he didn't, he understood, and they just moved on! I mean… that's so…"

"That's what friends do…" Sakura said softly. "They accept each other."

"But… but…" Naruto fumbled for the right words. _'You would have gotten mad if me or Sasuke forgot you.'_ That was the thought running through his mind, but he couldn't say that, 'cause she would get mad! Which was his point exactly, but she wouldn't understand! Naruto had noticed that a lot about ninja, they couldn't take things lightly. They couldn't take a joke. Even when he was a kid, pulling pranks all over the village, he always thought they took his pranks too seriously. He was only trying to have a little fun, after all. But ninja couldn't take a joke, and that thought always made Naruto feel a little lonely, it was as though a huge, big part of him would never be accepted by his own kind. _'I mean, sure, there are some exceptions, like Konohamaru and Iruka-sensei… but no one ever **really** understands, or gets that close… Everyone's always so… **serious**_.'

It was something fundamental about Naruto's character: the playful side—that had nothing to do at all with the demon fox sealed within him— and that was what made rejection even more painful.

Naruto looked back up and realized that Sakura was still waiting for his response.

"Well… You know they're just really good friends." He said at length. "And they can joke around and say whatever. I mean don't get me wrong, you're a great friend Sakura-chan" _'and I wish you were more' _"But…" And he couldn't stop his eyes from straying over to Sasuke.

"What…?" Sakura followed Naruto's gaze and suddenly her countenance changed completely. "Naruto! Don't you dare say anything bad about Sasuke-kun! He's perfect just the way he is and I don't want to talk to you if all you're going to say is stupid stuff like that!" And with that she stormed off to the other side of the group.

Naruto stared after her with his mouth slightly agape, hurt shining in his eyes. "Sakura-chan…"

So engrossed was he in his own problems, Naruto never noticed a pair of cat-like, amber eyes fix on him narrowly with a mix between wariness… and understanding.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**',.-End, Chapter Five-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Hehe, yes, I know everyone was expecting the fight(s) to happen in this chapter… But, well, it didn't quite work out that way. However, more plot thickening, and some very important hints for future chapters, I hope you all liked! Ah yes, and updates will come about once a month as long as I'm in school… there might be a bit of give and take during down time and exams, but it's all I can do. I will say though that I have plans for this story and they don't include abandoning this fic so you don't have to worry about that! :)

**HikariNoSekai: **Hee hee, I'm glad you got some laughs out of this, hard work went into making up those jokes! XD I know the chapters are a little short, but I'm hoping they're worth it :3

**apron: **Yes! You're right! You make a very, VERY good point! And, amazingly enough hardly anyone has commented on this yet… so … just keep it in mind, keep it in mind and … well, I can't say any more. Just… well, I hadn't forgotten about this and it's so awesome that you picked up on that! (goes on into mad author rant) XD Thankies for the review!

**Saki: **Wee! Long review, me likey :3 You know you're probably right, I also think Tyson and Naruto would make great friends, and they would have a friendly rivalry… but then again, where would the fun be without our favourite tortured-angsty types? XDD I'm glad you liked the tree scene where Sasuke compared Kai to Itachi, it was a sort of insight for me as well: I had no idea that was the conclusion Sasuke would come to either when I started writing the scene, so go figure! XD I guess in a way everyone else sees Sasuke as cold, arrogant and self-assured. But Sasuke sees Itachi that way and he sees Kai that way… does that mean Sasuke's subconsciously trying to act like Itachi? Hmmm ;p And yeah, poor Rei, he needs a more sympathetic ear to vent to XD. Mr. Granger is awesome! Crazy-insane, hip yet smart all the same, :D And so much fun to write! Anyways, here's the update… Kai and Sasuke _sort of _interacted… right? XD

**laura: **Hiya! Yay! I'm glad you liked it so much and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :D

**Angel-chan: **Heya! Thanks for reviewin'! Hmm… so you want to know if the Blitzkrieg Boys are going to show up…? Well… The Bladebreakers _are _heading to Russia… hehe ;p It's going to be great fun. Hope you liked!

**4879258: **Hi, funny penname, it makes me curious about the number choice :P Anyway, glad you like it so far and here's the update!

**Darakna: **Ah! You have an account! XD Well, I'm sorry I didn't quite make that connection earlier and I hope you got the PM I sent you! Anyway, aww, thanks so much for your super-nice review, it made me smile :) I'm doing my best to keep everyone in character, while still having fun—and have a serious plotline in the background—but if I have any questions about mythology and Naruto then I will certainly ask you! (I more or less have Beyblade memorized by now too XD). Beware now, I might start overflowing your e-mail box with questions about various Naruto jutsu! XDD And guess what? I just turned 19! So we're pretty close… I find most Beyblade fans are a little older actually, go die-hard fangirling! Guess Kai's just too awesome to forget about, huh? XP

**banan: **Wee, yet another in-chapter response! Am I sensing a trend? ;p So! You're a crossover fan too? They're so much fun, aren't they? Especially when they're done well, it's sad how hard it is to find them though D: Hmm… a Beyblade-HarryPotter crossover? Well, I have to say I've been thinking about it ;p But I'll probably finish this story first before starting another large project (though I have this Naruto one-shot in the works… hinthint :P). I'll never understand why Tyson and Naruto characters are so popular either T.T… Maybe they're popular in Japan? I prefer the tortured, traumatized characters myself (Emo! And stoic of course XD). They're so much more fun to play with! Oh and I absolutely love reading your interpretations of the future plot, they make me laugh, they're so much fun! Voltaire and Orochimaru meeting is very, very interesting… almost as interesting as Naruto being Ryu Granger's love child! Haha! I seriously cracked up laughing out loud when I read that; made my mom look at me kinda funny XD And the Boris as the Beykage! XDDD (I just got this wacky image of Boris in the Kage robe, with this maniacal grin on his face XD). But now! To answer your more serious questions: yah, I understand how the history stuff is a little confusing, you bring up some good points which I will remember. All I'll say here is that I didn't want to give out too much at once (over-load readers with too much info XD) so the history will come in stages. As for Kakashi saying how he should have made an appointment at the desk… well, let's just say that Mr. Dickenson is rather forgetful and didn't bother to tell his staff the ninja were coming… yeah, that'll work XD Anyways, sorry if this response is a little shorter than usual (sheepish grin) I hope you liked the chapter though! Byeya for now!

**Yay! You guys continue to be awesome and inspiring! Thanks: sasukoi, stephvamp25, blazingfire03, terracannon876, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, FlamingIce94, Thegoldenlock, vlissan, Phear the Insane, beybladeingninjaprincess, HikariNoSekai, fawks136, lady KCassandra, Zodiac100001, Miharu-desu, aprun, Dani Hiwatari, d1bontemp, not the usual baka, FairyDyris, Saki, StarShinobi, MagicalKaiLover18, laura, Haro kzoids, BloodRedViolet, Dreading, bladz-liska, Angel-chan, Kai's Suzaku, 4879258, Darakna and banan!**

* * *

Oh! And check out the poll on my profile page, it's short and easy but may become important later (winkwink)

**Adio!**


	6. WAREHOUSE DRAMA: Beware Demon Laptops!

**_HIYA!_**

**Author's Blurb: **Happy Halloween! Midterms are over, the weekend is here and I've got enough sugar to keep me up all night! Ah, this is the life (leans back and munches on Chocolate bar).

* * *

**FANART FUN TIME! Everyone, please stop by and check out this latest awesome piece of work!**

**This drawing **is full of mystery, contrast and even some subtle foreshadowing if you know where to look! **see-no-evil-san **did an awesome job of portraying a 'mirror' of Kai and Sasuke's relative characters in her picture (without the spaces): http: / / see-no-evil-san. deviantart. com/art/RedEyedBoys-Naruto-Beyblade-98490415 If that doesn't work, go to my profile page and click on the link to my Deviantart page. You'll find the picture under my favourites.

* * *

**KEY: **

_'… Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

**_I_****I**_ …(italics)… **I**_**I **denote a change in language

**_I_****I**_ **…(bold)…**_ **_I_I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_:-Sharingan Eyes-: _**

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

_…_

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

**_J. Gregory Keyes_**

**_Disclaimer:_** Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**_',.-Chapter Six-.,'_**

_WAREHOUSE DRAMA: Beware the Demon Laptops!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"Ok! Here we are!" Kenny strode into the enormous warehouse, heading straight toward a bare, decrepit looking wooden table onto which he placed Dizzy, immediately pulling the screen of the laptop up.

"Whew! Finally!" The digital voice sighed. "That took way too long; I was starting to get cramps!"

"Dizzy, you weren't even walking." Kenny commented dryly.

"Yeah, but you're hands are hard! You should try some Vaseline, Chief! It'll make your skin nice and supple!"

"Yeah, 'cause I'm worth it' right?"

This comment earned the bespectacled boy a snort from Hilary.

Naruto and Sakura entered the building, taking in their surroundings. The warehouse was huge and dark, with a dirt floor and worn, red-brick walls leading high up to a steepled, wooden ceiling and rusty metal crossbars. The only light trickled in from a row of shuttered windows near the ceiling; heavy wood crates and broken down machinery were strewn haphazardly across the room, caused the light to stutter and fail around them. A particularly large, vicious looking circular saw—metallic teeth glistening dully in the light—cast a long, eerie shadow across one wall.

The warehouse had two floors, the second being a mere strip of metal twelve feet up, circumvented by a thin, flimsy looking, metal rail and connected to the ground by an even flimsier wooden ladder.

"This will do." Kakashi sent an appraising look over the room. "Sasuke, watch the ceiling."

The dark haired boy's eyes flicked up to the shabby wood panelling then back down. He crossed his arms. "Hn."

Tyson bounded over to a far corner of the warehouse, where the shadows were thickest. He gestured everyone over wildly before reaching blindly into the dark. For a second, Tyson fiddled with something on the wall, his tongue stuck between his teeth in concentration. Then, the navy-haired boy's eyes lit up and he grinned. There came a loud clicking sound, the hum of a generator starting up and light flooded through the corner.

Team 7 blinked in the sudden brightness then looked up curiously at the sight before them.

Previously hidden by the darkness, now illuminated, was a second room. The room, while not exceptionally large, was expansively lit on the sides by bright, blue-white fluorescent lights. In the center of the room was a huge, raised metal platform in the shape of a rectangle. Directly in the center of the platform was a circular valley, sloping so deeply Rei could have stood in the lowest part and only his nose and eyes would've been seen over the top. The diameter too was substantial; three people standing in a line at arm's length from each other would not have been able to touch the rim of the bowl.

Higher up, circling the wall, the thin metal grating of the second floor looked even more feeble when its black, twisted frame was compared against the gleaming metal of the platform.

Compared to the rest of the warehouse, this room looked utterly new and polished.

There was a loud cawing sound and a rustle of feathers. At the very peak of the ceiling, hidden amongst the rafters was a large crow. It cawed again and flapped its wings, disturbed by the sudden light in the room.

"Hey Kai!" Tyson leapt up onto the square platform, his shoes made a crisp, metallic '_tick tack' _sound as he turned in a full circle and craned his neck to stare up at the second floor. "You remember this place? I sure do; what about you Kenny?"

"…Eh…aa…" Kenny sent a nervous glance at Kai. The older boy looked vaguely in the Kenny's direction, then away; this apparent disinterest gave Kenny the courage to continue. "Yeah… yeah, I remember it, Tyson."

"It's been a while—practically three years. Hey, Maxie, Rei! Remember I told you 'bout the first time me 'n Kai fought?" He received a nod of understanding from Max and a raised eyebrow from Rei. Kakashi showed no response, but Sasuke's ears almost visibly perked up at the word 'fought'. Hilary too, was listening closely, not having heard this story before.

Tyson continued "Yeah, this was the place." He turned to Sakura and Naruto, who were looking at him in confusion. "I tell ya, it was a lot more creepier in this place with old sourpuss over there skulking in the shadows." The teen laughed, jerking a thumb in Kai's direction.

"Whaddya mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we came here looking for Kenny… when…he—" Tyson faltered as he belatedly realized the rather piercing stare Kai was giving him. Kakashi mentally noted the exchange, no longer wasting the energy to by irritated at the secrets the Bladebreakers were keeping. "Right…" Tyson eyed Kai, "Well, anyway, when I came here, Kai was standing up on the railing." Tyson pointed up at the second floor, Naruto and Sakura's eyes trailed upward to gauge its distance from the floor. "Then he did this sick jump, flipped right over in midair" Tyson traced the pattern in the air. "And landed on the ground right in front of me! It was killer, I tell ya'! Never seen anything like it; you're such a show-off, Kai." Tyson smirked at Kai, who returned the look with an even stare.

Hilary's eyes widened as she imagined the jump.

"_Really?_" Sakura said, sounding amazed. "You did that?" She looked over at Kai. "That's pretty impressive; the drop must be over two stories!" Sakura suddenly found herself caught in an intense gaze of red and her breath stopped. Moments dragged by and her thoughts were completely scattered until Kai looked away. She had to stop herself from gaping; he was still halfway across the room from her, how on earth had he managed to capture her attention so completely, from so far away, with just his eyes?

"I don't get it." Naruto squinted at the ledge. "What's so great about that? I make jumps like that all the time. I could jump _up _that. It ain't no big deal." He looked honestly surprised by the shocked looks Hilary, Kenny and Max sent him, and Tyson's incredulous one.

"Yeah right, there's no way you could make a jump like that." Tyson scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto challenged. "Watch me!"

And Naruto crouched down into a squat. With a short shout, he leaped sharply into the air. It was a distinctly graceless movement, but it got the job done and Naruto soared high up into the air amongst loud gasps from his audience. His hand caught the thin railing and he spun his body around it, doing a short handstand before bringing his feet down flat onto the rod. He stood up tall and gave an exaggerated bow to the people below.

"Thank you, thank you." Naruto yelled down the others, a wide grin on his face. "See nothing to it!" And he jumped up and down a few times on the railing. Tyson, Max, Hilary and Kenny all stared at his faraway figure with mute awe, their jaws hanging open.

"Uh, Naruto!" Sakura called up to the blond. "I don't think you should be doing that." She sent a worried look to Kakashi, but her teacher was busy idly flipping a page of his book. Then she looked to Sasuke, knowing he wouldn't help, but being unable to stop herself from hoping he would. Sasuke's slumped posture clearly conveyed his indifference and Sakura sighed, she was on her own.

"What?" Naruto shouted back. "I can't hear you!"

"NA-RU-TO! Get down here!" Sakura threw her head back and yelled, clenching her fists.

"Aww… why?" Naruto whined, now getting cocky: skipping over the railing on one foot and swinging his arms back and forth. "I'm perfectly fine, see Sakur—AAAAH!"

Just then, a section of the rusted, weak railing gave under Naruto's weight and broke completely free. Hilary gave a piercing shriek as Naruto fell forward, plummeting through the air. Tyson and Max darted forward but in a split-second Rei had reached out, gabbing their arms tightly and yanked them back. They looked at the older boy in disbelief, shocked at his completely calm expression.

"REI! LET GO! WE GOTTA CATCH HIM! REI!" Tyson yelled, struggling.

"Stop it Tyson! If they aren't making a fuss, neither will we." Rei hissed back, strengthening his hold.

And Tyson, even in his state of alarm, noticed then that Rei was right; neither Kakashi nor Sakura looked at all upset that their friend was falling off a potentially lethal height. As for Sasuke… he wasn't even paying attention, finding the wooden panels of a nearby crate more interesting than the danger his team mate was in. Tyson was appalled, his mouth hung open.

"Why…?" Max murmured with wide, frightened eyes.

Hilary and Kenny watched the scene, frozen in shock and fear.

Naruto hit the ground in a resounding **_thump_ **and a cloud of dirt and pebbles rose around him. Tyson wrenched his arm free from Rei's hold and ran to Naruto's fallen figure. Max gave Rei an imploring look and the older teen reluctantly let him go with a sigh. Max immediately followed after Tyson.

"NARUTO! NARUTO! Are you okay?" Tyson yelled anxiously as the dirt cloud lifted. A pained groan reached his ears.

"Yeah… yeah…" Naruto's figure cam into view, he was lying flat on the ground, looking vaguely dizzy and dusty but otherwise fine. "I'm alright; just need a moment to get up."

Max, Hilary and Kenny gaped.

Tyson was stupefied. "How… How did you…?"

Max's expression was equally flummoxed. "That's not possible…"

"It was his chakra." A voice from behind the boys answered, and they turned to look at Sakura.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Well, chakra has a way of allowing us to jump incredible, heights, stick to things, take hard hits and survive incredible falls…should a certain, bigheaded, _imbecile_ decide to get cocky." She said the last part with an admonishing look at the still stunned Naruto.

"So Naruto used his chakra-thingy to jump up there?" Hilary interjected, cautiously taking a few steps closer. She eyed Naruto in concern, but couldn't keep the intrigued tone out of her voice. Sakura nodded, sending Hilary an amused looked at her usage of 'chakra-thingy'.

"It's also that which makes what Kai did so impressive." Sakura added, with a glance in the youth's direction, this time making sure to avoid looking in his eyes. She needn't have bothered though, Kai had receded back into the shadows of the room; his attention appeared to be elsewhere.

"…Why…?" Tyson still wasn't following.

"Well, you see, Tyson." Now Kenny was in on the conversation, pushing up his glasses and gearing up for an explanation. "Naruto focused his chakra around his legs and feet to bolster his own physical strength, doubling, or even tripling it. That's what made him jump so high. Jumping down is the same thing; but instead, the chakra would be used to absorb the energy from hitting the ground instead of releasing energy. See, when Kai did that jump, he did it without the use of chakra… Much like the way Rei normally jumps, which is why it's impressive. Naruto would have never been able to do such a jump had he not used his chakra."

"I see…" Tyson blinked, absorbing the information.

"Oh, so Rei can jump like that too?" Sakura set the Chinese boy an interested look, one that he returned coolly. "I wonder why…?" The last part was said quietly to herself.

"You know, it's kinda amazing how you can explain all that so well when just a few hours ago _you_ didn't know what this chakra thing was either." Hilary stared at Kenny.

Kenny shrugged, though his cheeks pinked with pleasure. "Heh, what can I say…"

"_I _say it's kinda creepy." Tyson teased and got his desired reaction when Kenny rounded on him with an indignant 'Hey!'

"So… Naruto's ok?" Max directed his question to Sakura, sending Naruto—who was gradually detaching himself from the ground—a worried glance.

"Fit as a fiddle… At least he is right _now_… He _won't_ be when I'm through with him." Sakura stomped off toward Naruto

"Naruto, how do you feel?" The pink-haired girl asked sweetly. Hilary, who was watching the interaction between the two ninja, cringed. She knew that tone, having used it herself only too often on Tyson. She had a foreboding feeling about what was going to follow.

Naruto, who had by now managed to stand up without wobbling, rubbed his head. "Auhgh… not bad, got a little cramp in the neck, but it's all ok."

"Good. Then I won't feel bad about doing this."

And she punched him.

"AHHH!"

Tyson, Max and Kenny collectively winced with pity as the blond haired boy was now back on the ground nursing a bruised cheek. Even Rei looked sympathetic.

Hilary shook her head, but had to raise one hand to her mouth and turn her head away to hide her smirk. She saw Kakashi look up from his book, appraise the situation, then look back down and turn a page. Raising an eyebrow at the elder ninja, she shook her head again and sought out first Kai, then Sasuke in the room.

She blinked, then looked between them again.

Sasuke and Kai both had their eyes closed and had adopted eerily similar expressions of consternation as they leaned on their respective supports: Kai against the wall and Sasuke against a wooden crate. Hilary watched them for a moment longer and her second eyebrow rose to match the first. Rei caught her eye and made a gesture with his chin, silently asking her what was wrong. Hilary tilted her head at Kai, then eyed Sasuke. Rei, catching her drift, turned his gaze on the two.

A moment passed, then another, and the corner of Rei's mouth suddenly quirked down in a dry smirk. Hilary was sure that he snorted before turning back to Sakura and Naruto's conversation.

"OWIE!!! Maa, Sakura-chaan, whaddaya do that for?!" Naruto whined, putting a hand to his tender cheek, which was doing a good imitation of a ripe tomato.

"Don't you EVER do something that stupid again. You hear me?!" Sakura yelled shaking one finger right under Naruto's nose. His eyes crossed as he tried to follow the finger with his eyes and the blond ninja groaned as the effort made his head throb.

"Ya, ya, Sakura-chan. I promise." Naruto gave what he hoped was an apologetic grin as he looked up at Sakura towering over him.

"Good. Because next time I won't be so lenient." She warned, completely unaffected by his lopsided grin.

"That was lenient?!" Naruto muttered under his breath, moved his jaw back and forth and massaging it. Tyson and Kenny laughed. And Max opened his mouth to say something.

"…Can we just get _on _with this?"

Very surprisingly, this comment came from Kai. And everyone quietened down to look at him, shocked. Kai stood in the shadows near the entrance to the stadium, his arms crossed over his chest—the metal accents on his biker jacket flickering in the feeble light— as he regarded the group with an air of distinct condescension.

"Ah, ah, Kai, what's the matter, you got someplace to be?" Tyson grinned cheekily. " 'Cause, you know, after this we're all just gonna go back to my dojo tonight anyway."

"Seeing as your obnoxious snoring will keep everyone sleep deprived, we should take advantage of the time we have—"

"Hey!"

"Rei, take the guide position behind Tyson."

"You want them to have guides in this match?" Rei questioned, but Kai ignored him.

"I will stand behind Max. Kenny, focus your analysis on their spin and pattern of motion; I've noticed some consistencies in Tyson's movements and Max's spin gear was retarded during practice." Kai's voice was neither indulgent nor cutting; rather, he spoke with the apathetic, clinical air of a teacher meticulously explaining a simple question to a particularly slow student.

Nonetheless, Kenny nodded without question and placed Dizzy on a table, setting up her camera accordingly.

"Hilary, I want you to watch Tyson and Max's stances. Tell me if you notice any flaws." Kai, as he walked past her toward the Beydish, sent Hilary the briefest flickering of his gaze. His pace didn't slow though and he had his back to her even before he'd finished speaking.

Hilary nodded; then, realizing Kai couldn't see her, answered with a verbal "Got it."

Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all watched, in silent fascination, the complete change that underwent the Bladebreakers. Kai, suddenly much more communicative, was a sharp, precise and efficient leader. And his team followed his orders to a T; the once chaotic, unfocussed team was now coordinated and centred.

"Hey Kai, why aren't you gonna be my guide?" Tyson questioned as the team walked toward the large bowl in the room.

"You said you were not pigheaded, Tyson. Prove it." Was all Kai said by way of answer.

Nearby, Naruto and Sakura huddled. "Wow, big change huh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto muttered under his breath, putting a hand over his mouth in a conspiratorial manner.

"Yeah, honestly, I was wondering how he could possibly lead his team; he never spoke much before…" Sakura was staring at the team's movements, amazed.

"Oh, this is Kai in 'Captain mode'." Hilary, who had been standing next to Team 7, suddenly spoke up.

"Meaning?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Well, usually Kai has nothing to do with us. He acts all cold and anti-social—barely ever strings two words together to make a sentence. But when he gets into his 'Captain mode', he's all of a sudden barking out orders and telling everyone what to do. It's very hard to get used to at first." Here Hilary laughed. "It took Tyson the longest to adapt; he couldn't stand Kai being so bossy, especially when he's usually so quiet. But after a while, we began to understand that that's just how Kai is. It's kinda the way he shows he cares…"

"That doesn't make any sense." Naruto scrunched up his face.

"Well…" Hilary put a finger to her lips. "It's like… he shows us he cares by spending the time to train us. We know he cares because he's bothering to work with us. Does that make more sense?"

"…" Naruto was still thinking.

"Wait…" Sakura looked up. "Then what you're implying is that… if Kai didn't care then he would just… what? Leave?"

This comment seemed to make Hilary uncomfortable and she looked away, fidgeting with the flared edge of her mini-skirt.

"No, I don't think he'd leave." Hilary said quietly, but Kakashi's eyes narrowed. He detected the lie in Hilary's voice. Hilary, seeing Kakashi's close stare, laughed nervously. "…_Ano_… hah ha, anyway, why don't you all come with me up to the viewing decks? We'll be able to see better there." She pointed up to a railed-off metal platform slightly above Tyson and Max. It stood exactly between the two boys, with perfect visibility into the metal bowl. It was reinforced with large rivets and support beams, appearing much more stable than the railing Naruto had just fallen off. "Are you coming, Kenny?"

Kenny, who'd just finished getting his sensors and cameras into perfect position, looked up as his name was called. "Huh?" Hilary repeated the question and Kenny wrinkled his nose in annoyance. "Move? Now?" He looked at all his hard word. "But I'm all settled…"

"Oh c'mon Chief! I can't see anything from here; bend a little." Dizzy piped up.

Kenny relented, unsnapping the camera and winding up some nearby wires. "Oh, Alright." He sighed.

"You know," Sakura said; she and Naruto were staring at Dizzy in fascination. "I still can't believe that laptop has a mind of its own… How does it work?"

"Is…" Naruto hesitated and glanced down. Gently, in an almost unconscious gesture, he placed a hand on the area of his bright orange jumper that rested right above his stomach. Snapping out of his thoughts, Naruto shook his head once, dropped his hand and continued. "Is there… a demon sealed in that laptop?"

Hilary and Kenny stared at Naruto for a second before bursting into laughter. Naruto flushed red, somewhat offended. After a few moments, Hilary sobered enough to see the fairly serious looks on Sakura and Naruto's faces, her laughing faltered.

"Oh… you were… serious?" She asked, her expression one of disbelief. Kenny, realizing Hilary's words, managed to quell his laughter then.

"Yes, of course." Sakura said, matter-of-factly. "Demons exist. Didn't you know that?"

"I… I…" Hilary had no idea what to say to that.

"You must be joking. Demons are a physical impossibility. They cannot exist." Kenny stated logically.

"Ancient chakra has the ability to form semi-sentiment manifestations." Sakura said, raising her head and speaking with a didactic tone that suggested she was quoting from some text. "A Demon is such a manifestation. A malevolent one."

"… Yeah." Naruto once again had his hand on his stomach. Kakashi watched him in silence.

"…Oh…" Hilary was still trying to wrap her mind around that concept. "I… see…" She didn't really, but she figured Kenny would probably research the topic. Then she could get a more in-depth explanation from him later. "Well, Dizzy isn't a Demon."

"No? Then what is it?" Sakura cocked her head at the laptop in Kenny's hands.

"She." Kenny corrected.

Sakura nodded, acknowledging the pronoun. "She."

"I'm a Bitbeast, thank you very much!" Dizzy's voice answered tartly.

"A… Bit-beast?" Naruto looked quizzical. "What's that? A mini-beast? A bit of a beast? How's that possible?" Naruto looked more quizzical with every possibility he added.

Hilary and Kenny stifled their laughter behind their fists.

"It's—" Kenny made to explain, but Hilary held up a hand, smiling.

"No, don't tell them." She said, grin widening. "They'll find out soon enough." There was something sly about her grin that made Sakura and Naruto nervous.

Hilary led the way up to the viewing deck, followed closely by Naruto and Sakura, now more excited than ever about this 'Beyblade' thing. Kenny followed, computer wires looped around his short arms, talking to Dizzy about some abstract concept; and Kakashi followed behind them, his nose still deep in his _'Come Come Paradise' _book.

There was only person who hadn't spoken once since they'd entered the warehouse. Sasuke Uchiha treaded slowly behind Kakashi. His ears had caught the entire conversation, but had filed it away in an idle fashion, to be considered more closely at a later time. His full attention was on the four figures moving about on the metal bowl above him. Sasuke tracked their movements with his eyes, never letting his gaze waver.

And as he watched them, something stirred within his dark eyes: a deep red mist curled at the edges of his irises, slowly bleeding inward toward the pupils. Then Sasuke blinked, breaking his eye contact; and when his eyes opened they were black once more. The Uchiha turned—moving his head first, then following with his body—stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, slouched, and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**',.-End, Chapter Six-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Mmhmm… well, I never actually SAID the fight would be in this chapter, did I? XD Nevertheless, it WILL be in the next chapter. And also some interesting and important points were made in this chapter so I hope you all enjoyed!

**-: **Ah, well! You ask such a complicated question! ;p Ok… how to explain this? Basically, it's a matter of perspective. Kai's eyes appear brownish-red in the first season, but fansites (official and unofficial) say they're red (plus there are a couple of pictures of Kai with red eyes). For myself, I read on the internet about Kai having red eyes in the first season _before _actually going and meticulously picking out his eye colour in the show. By that time it was too late, I'd already formed my opinion in concrete (XD). So, for me, Kai will always have red eyes (shrugs). Whether you agree or not is up to you…but, well, the red eyes _are_ kinda important to this plot… hehe.

**Saki: **Hee hee! Looks like you'll have to wait just a _little _bit longer for the fights! Eep! (hides behind computer) XD But yes, it WILL be in the next chapter, promise! And yeah, Kai has been pretty aloof hasn't he? Actually, I'm finding it quite fun to write him like this… we can only _wonder _what's going on in that head of his! (Evil chuckle) Basically, I'd envisioned Kai as a mystery; and as the characters learn more about him, we will as well. :p I hope that makes some sense; and that I'm not just slipping into some mad author ramble XD

**fallen phoenix: **Hello! Yay! I'm so glad you like this story! :D I know the updates don't come very often, but in between midterms, life and various other annoying time consuming activities, this is the best I can do for now (sheepish grin). I will try not to let more than a month pass in between updates. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

* * *

**Big thankies to everyone who reviewed: terracannon876, sasukoi, Dani Hiwatari, vlissan, Mirai-Vegeto **(Or should I say **Xenonwing **now? :3)**, fawks136, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Darakna, -, ElementalFoxGoddess, Miharu-desu, Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3 **(FFdotnet kept deleting your name in the preview document! I had to add extra spaces! XD)**, lady KCassandra, Saki, Haro kzoids, vuzznut **(Ha, I love your penname! XD)**, BloodRedViolet, beckylovesgigs, stephvamp25, not the usual baka, fallen phoenix, bladz-liska, Wah-Keetcha, Kuma the wolf alchemist and CleverPhoenix! Yay!**

* * *

**And again! Check out see-no-evil-san's fanart at http: / / see-no-evil-san. deviantart. com/art/RedEyedBoys-Naruto-Beyblade-98490415**

* * *

Oh! And if you haven't voted on my poll yet, please do!

**Adio!**

**Sholay**


	7. TAKE ONE: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **Sigh… it's that time of the semester again… exam time… Last exam is December 17, the chances of seeing another update before that are undoubtedly slim… Sad truth, I'm afraid.

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I** …_(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I** …_**(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

_**J. Gregory Keyes**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Seven-.,'**_

_TAKE ONE: Rain, Rain, Go Away!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

" '_Prove it, Tyson'. 'Prove you're not a pighead, Tyson'. _" Tyson wrinkled his nose and made a face as he mocked Kai's words. "Grr…Thinks he knows everything, doesn't he?... Well I'll show him!... I'll just… and then… He's SO gonna eat his words! Oh yess, hehehe" Tyson continued muttering to himself as he snapped the Dragoon bit into his beyblade and proceeded to make a perfunctory check of the attack ring and weighted base of his blade.

"… Tyson…" Rei, standing to Tyson's right, warily interrupted the boy's bizarre ramblings. "So how do you want to do this? I can stand here and give you advice throughout the match; or I can back up and help you only if—"

"No need Rei!" Tyson waved a hand in the air, his voice confident. "Kai only said that stuff to mess me up; I'll win this match on my own and _then _we'll see who's pigheaded!"

Rei sighed, but took a step back from Tyson, knowing it would do no good to argue. If Tyson didn't want his help then so be it, but Rei would be watching just in case.

On the other side of the dish, Max was nervously checking his blade under Kai's watchful eye.

"Eh heh, y'know, Kai, you really don't have to bother; I've bladed against Tyson lots of times, and… y'know… I don't mind. I'll probably loose, but it doesn't really matter. It's just practise, right?..." Max's voice trailed off at the end and looked at Kai with a self-deprecating smile.

Kai just looked at Max blandly for a few moments before turning his head to look across the beydish. "I want you to take careful note of the combination Tyson uses." He said.

Max blinked, but wasn't very surprised that Kai had ignored his words; Kai wasn't one for pity or consolatory speeches. It was okay though; Max didn't want to look like he was fishing for compliments.

"Do this; and you'll win."

Max looked up in surprise. "Really? You think?" It wasn't often that Max won a beybattle against Tyson, but Kai's predictions about these kinds of things were rarely wrong. Max found himself feeling quite pleased at the possibility of finally beating Tyson.

Kai didn't bother to repeat himself, but Max didn't care. He looked up, a challenging grin on his face, confidence returned.

"Alright Tyson!" Max laughed. "Bring it on!"

Situated slightly above the four boys, Team 7—along with Hilary and Kenny—stood on the viewing decks looking down at the large metal bowl. Kenny had set himself up directly in the centre of the deck, as forward as he could, and now sat at a metal table fiddling with various gadgets fixed to his laptop. Everyone else stood gathered around the table, shifting impatiently and throwing the occasional question at Hilary.

"So what are they doing?" Naruto asked, leaning over the rail and trying to get a closer look at the shiny metal thing in Tyson's hands.

"Tyson and Max are preparing for the battle." Hilary said simply.

"And what about Kai and Rei?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at the brunette. With one hand she reached out and yanked Naruto back from the rail. Naruto—who'd been balancing precariously on his stomach—yelped as he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his jumpsuit and pulled backward.

"Kai and Rei are guides; they basically give advice and help Max and Tyson out during the match." Hilary explained, not even blinking as Naruto staggered into Sakura, nearly bringing them both down to the floor.

Kakashi meanwhile, was standing behind Kenny. He was bent over—hands clasped behind his back—peering intently at the screen of the laptop where Kenny worked. Kenny shifted self-consciously under the attention, glancing up every now and again at the strange man watching silently over his shoulder.

"Yes?" He eventually asked.

"Oh nothing!" Kakashi's visible eye squinted closed and somehow Kenny got the impression the man was grinning at him. Kenny waited, but when Kakashi didn't say anything more he just raised his eyebrows, gave the elder man a long, uneasy stare, then turned back to his laptop, trying to ignore the shadow looming over him.

"Where are they going to get started?" Naruto asked eagerly, shooting a glance at Hilary.

"Hm, well, Max already signalled. I'm just waiting for…" Just then Tyson looked up, and snapped off a sharp salute, a cocky grin on his face. Hilary snorted. "And that's it. They're set to go." At this, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi all looked down at the beydish expectantly.

"Alright! So, first blade knocked out of bounds looses. No retakes on this one, ok, guys?" Hilary yelled down to the four teens below. Tyson and Max nodded their agreement and Hilary raised her hand into the air. "Take your positions!"

Team 7 leaned in.

Tyson and Max drew out their launchers, which to the ninjas, looked a lot like weapons.

"What are they doing? Are they gonna fight? Is that bowl some kinda boxing ring? Are they gonna shoot each other? Are they…" Naruto's questions came fast and rapid, each more outlandish than the last, until finally—

"Sh! Be quiet, Naruto!" Sakura hissed.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Yes, Sakura-chan."

"This is ridiculous," Sasuke gripped, a heavy frown on his face. "They're drawing it out deliberately. They should just hurry up and get it over with. I have a fight to win." And Sasuke glanced at Naruto sideways, matching the blond's challenging smile with a sneer of his own.

"Ahh, Sasuke," Kakashi said lightly. "You're not interested in finding out what this 'Beyblade' is at all?"

"Che." Sasuke scoffed.

"THREE!" Hilary suddenly called, and all attention went back to the two Beybladers.

"TWO!" Tyson and Max cocked their launchers.

"ONE!" Now, even Sasuke couldn't hide his curiosity as he drifted closer to get a better view.

"LET IT RIP!"

And with identical, wordless exclamations, Tyson and Max ripped the cords through their launchers violently and there came a clash of sparks and screeching of metal on metal.

Team 7 watched.

And stared.

And blinked.

Stunned silence filled the area, broken only by Hilary's badly stifled giggles. Kenny looked up, glanced at the ninja's faces, and looked down, a crooked grin pulling at his lips.

"Cat got your tongues?" Dizzy teased.

"You… have got to be kidding me…" Sasuke was the first to speak. His eyes stayed on the scene below him and his voice was filled with incredulousness, and not a little derision.

"They fight with… spinning tops?!" Sakura spluttered on the last part, as though she was doing her best to restrain from possibly insulting her team's clients.

"No way!" Naruto crowed. Unlike Sakura, he had no reservations on his actions and he threw his head back as he laughed openly. "That's unbelievable! You GOTTA be joking! There's no WAY you guys fight with… toys!"

"And you called THAT an Olympic sport?" Sakura gestured with her hand at the bowl where Tyson and Max's blades were currently circling one another.

Kakashi didn't say a word, though his expression showed great amusement.

Hilary was now laughing so hard she had to hold onto her sides. "Haha ha hah ha… Oh my goodness… you guys… you guys should have seen your expressions! They were to die for!" Hilary slowly began to sober; as she calmed, she wiped away the tears from her mirth.

"Oh wow…" Hilary was still rubbing a stitch in her side. "If my reaction was anything at ALL like yours when I first found out about Beyblade… then no wonder the guys laughed so much at me."

"I don't get what's so funny," Sakura frowned, putting her hands on her hips. Feeling defensive of her opinion, Sakura allowed her tongue some more freedom. "I mean _they're _the ones playing with the silly spinning tops…"

"Oh, they're not just silly spinning tops." Hilary raised a finger. She didn't appear to take any offence at Sakura's stab at the Bladebreakers' maturity. "Trust me. It might look completely wasteful, inane and stupid at first, but trust me, Tyson—er, Beyblade is definitely not that bad!" Hilary flushed at her slip and Sakura and Naruto looked at her oddly.

"Did you just say Tyson?" Naruto questioned. Sakura's stare immediately switched to him before she put her forehead in her palm, shaking it at his tactlessness.

"No I didn't!" Hilary shot back defensively.

"Yeah you did," Naruto insisted. Sakura sighed. "I hear you, you said—"

"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT TYSON, GOT IT?!" Hilary suddenly shouted at Naruto, who jumped in surprise.

"Ok, ok!" Naruto brought both his hands up in surrender. "Sheesh! You're just as bad as Sakura-chan!"

Hilary smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." She said, and shared a cheeky look with Sakura.

"HEY! DID SOMEONE UP THERE SAY MY NAME?!" Tyson's voice suddenly came floating up to the group.

"NO! NOW STOP EAVESDROPPING AND PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BEYBATTLE!" Hilary shouted back loudly. Tyson huffed and looked back down. "But I'm telling you," Hilary tone did a complete 180 as she continued talking perfectly calmly. Naruto stared at Hilary; her bright grin looked a little scary. Then he eyed Sakura and the bruise on his head twinged in remembrance. He was beginning to thing all girls were this crazy.

Hilary, unaware of Naruto's sudden edginess, continued speaking. "Beyblading does have its merits, you just have to give it a chance."

"But…" Sakura was unconvinced, sending a glance down at the small spinning tops which continued to rotate and clash beneath them. "It's just so…"

"What keeps their spinning tops keep moving?" Kakashi's mild voice slid through the conversation and Hilary, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke turned to the elder man. Kakashi had his arms folded on the railing and was watching the two beyblades idly.

Hilary moved up next to him. "A Beyblade—that's what the spinning tops are called—spins with the energy of its blader. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but basically, if either Tyson or Max get tired, or fall unconscious, their blade will stop spinning… Oh and their bitbeast also lends its energy."

"That's the second time you've mentioned a bitbeast." Sakura, deciding to give this 'Beyblading' thing a chance, went to stand by Hilary's other side. "What are they?"

Hilary watched the blades for a moment. They made their first clash and Max's blade flew back. Tyson gave a triumphant yell and pressed his blade to attack again. But Max quickly recovered and moved to the centre of the dish, spinning in place. A defensive movement. Hilary noted also how Tyson's weighted shifted to the balls of his feet as he attacked, almost as though he himself were getting ready to jump into the beydish. It made him unbalanced; it was a typical bad habit of his.

"I think… It would be better if I let them show you…" Hilary said at length. "First though, I want you to look at what they're doing down there. You see, the blades might be small, and it might look childish, but it's really quite a complex sport. It takes both physical and mental stamina."

"How?" It was the possibility of a challenge that sparked Naruto's interest and he too moved to stand near her, Sakura and Kakashi.

"Well, it takes constant concentration to keep their blade spinning, or it'll fall over and they'll loose. And that's just in one spot. You see how they move and turn?" Hilary pointed to Tyson's blade which was circling Max's in swift precise circles. "They need to plan and will each of their blade's movements. It takes a lot of understanding about the weight, acceleration, mass and… well, basic physics to do that… Though, quite honestly I think the Chief" She nodded at Kenny. "And Kai are probably the only ones who bother with the specifics. And maybe Rei too. But Tyson just kinda bumbles though and gets it after a lot of practice."

"Okay… so they will the Beyblades to move and hit each other, then what?" Sakura still sounded skeptical.

"The objective is to knock the other person's blade out of the bowl. You loose once the blade lands outside the beydish, or stops spinning. That's where strategy comes in. Now look at Tyson's blade, see how it moves?" Hilary asked and the ninjas watched as Tyson circled Max's stationary blade once, twice, then swerved suddenly to the right. Max's blade jerked instinctively to the left and that's when Tyson's blade moved in, ramming Max's blade back viciously. Max's blade fell back to the edge of the dish, but recovered and moved back.

"Now Tyson has done that exact same combination: circle, feint, attack, once before, and I think Max's just realized that." As Hilary spoke, Team 7 saw Max lean back and say something to Kai, who gave a short response. On the other end of the dish, Rei appeared to be trying to tell something to Tyson, but Tyson was waving him off. "I think Rei knows what's going on now too, but Tyson's being too stubborn to accept his help." Hilary folded her arms and thinned her lips.

"Hey, this is actually kinda interesting!" Naruto said, surprised. "Oie! Teme! Why don't you come and take a closer look?"

Sasuke was still standing away from the railing. His arms were folded and he looked down his nose at the Beybattle between Tyson and Max; he seemed intent on remaining aloof. "It's a trick." He said shortly. "That last collision should have knocked that spinning top out of the bowl. They have magnets under the floor as handicaps."

Hilary looked up at Sasuke with widened eyes and raised eyebrows. "I'm surprised you noticed something like that!" She said. "Usually it takes a bit of study before someone understands the weight and angle of a Beyblade well enough to predict flight patterns and that sort of thing." Sasuke didn't appear to acknowledge the compliment.

"We've been working with weapons and stuff all our lives." Sakura answered for Sasuke. "It's kinda our job to realize stuff like that."

"Oh…" Hilary paused. "Well… okay then. But there are no magnets below the ground." She looked at Sasuke as she said this and he frowned at her. She shrugged, but couldn't stop her eyes from falling away from the condescending look in his dark eyes. It was like he scorned her for just contradicting him. "It's true; Max likes to make his blade unusually heavy by adding extra weights on the base so it doesn't get thrown out of the ring as easily. He does it to improve his defence, but it also has the added problem of—"

"Decreasing manoeuvrability." Kakashi finished.

"That's right." Hilary eyed the man. "That's why Tyson hits him every time with that feint attack. But look now, Max has a plan."

Max's face was set in an expression of intense concentration as he leaned down into a crouch and fisted his hands. His blade was still spinning in place at the centre of the dish while Tyson's blade swept by in rapid laps. But slowly, a change overcame Max's beyblade.

"Hey!" Naruto called. "It's slowing down!"

And indeed, Max's Beyblade was gradually slowing in its rotation until it came to a complete standstill.

"He's practically giving the match away!" Sakura said, raising an eyebrow. "Tyson could hit him and throw him out in a second!"

"She's right, Kenny! It's suicide! What does Max think he's doing!?" Hilary yelled back anxiously to the bespectacled boy sitting at the desk.

"No… it's not suicide; it's brilliant!" Kenny said slowly, before jumping up and peering over Dizzy for a closer look. He hopped up and down in excitement. "See! Tyson can't ram Max because the centripetal force of his movement keeps him going in circles! It's why he kept doing a sharp, crude feint—to jerk himself out of the never-ending circle—before attacking! And look! Max is already gaining speed, and Tyson has only just jerked to the side!"

Indeed when they looked back, Tyson had done the same feint that had caught Max before. Only this time, Max didn't jump to the left; instead, he stayed in his spot and kept spinning, gathering speed.

"Why did he stop anyway? What did he gain from that?" Sakura asked.

"He's moving backwards."

Sakura and Naruto looked back at Sasuke, who was still standing away from them in the same disinterested pose. He had turned his head downward though; and in his peripheral vision he eyed the match intently.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned, but got no answer from Sasuke.

"He means that Max was spinning clockwise before, but now he's spinning counter-clockwise…" Hilary said slowly, watching the match closely. "But why would he—?"

Just then, Tyson and Max's beyblades collided in a shower of sparks and hissing metal. And, like two gears fitting together, the sharp, serrated blades of their attack rings interlocked and began moving in cohesion, increasing each other's speed.

"Of course! I get it!" Kenny cried excitedly. "Dizzy, are you getting this?"

"Every juicy detail, Chief." The laptop promised.

"Max is trying to increase Tyson's speed until the blade can't handle it and goes flying." Kenny explained quickly.

"But won't that make Max's blade loose control too?" Hilary looked between the bladers and Kenny.

"No… Force is directly proportional to mass… Max's blade is heavier… Heavy enough to keep him in the dish just a few seconds longer than Tyson, and that's all Max needs." Kenny said distractedly as he sat back down and began typing madly on his laptop.

"But… wait a second!" Naruto suddenly piped up. "All this weird stuff about spinning clockwise and counter-clockwise and heavy and not heavy is great and all, but you said Beyblading was a physical sport too! Where's the physical-ness in this?"

Suddenly, just as Kenny predicted, Tyson's Beyblade lost balance and flew into the air and then Hilary grinned.

"You'll see, Tyson isn't going to loose this match without a fight.

"GO DRAGOON!"

"DRACIEL!"

A bright light exploded from the blades, shocking the ninja. A thunderous roar, joined by another in harmony, beat upon their eardrums, echoing and reverberating in their skulls, thrumming like two perfectly tuned strings.

And then a wave of energy: pulsing, throbbing, like a living creature, swept through them, hastening their heartbeats and stealing their breath.

"What—What IS that?!" Sakura gasped, falling into a crouch with both hands over her ears.

Kakashi had two shuriken drawn in on hand and was standing alert at the edge of the viewing deck as he stared around himself suspiciously. Sasuke was right alongside him, his own weapons drawn as he likewise glared around himself, searching for the cause of the disturbance.

Naruto was the only one not reacting negatively. He was standing shock still and erect, staring open-mouthed at the air in front of him.

"Do you see them? Aren't they amazing?" Hilary said excitedly, but frowned when she saw the offensive stances both Kakashi and Sasuke were holding. That frown turned into a look of concern as she spotted Sakura crouching on the ground. "What happened? Why are you acting so strange?"

"Didn't you feel it? The energy?" Sakura, gathering herself, slowly stood and looked at Hilary in astonishment. "That huge pulse of energy, I've never felt anything like it before… was that chakra?"

"No." Kakashi answered shortly, still searching the air. "That wasn't chakra… but it was something… else."

"What are you _talking _about?" Hilary questioned again, more forcefully. "I didn't feel _anything_. But if you're looking for the cause of that loud roar, you're looking in the wrong direction." She pointed back at Tyson and Max. "That's where they are."

Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke all looked at the beydish, the two spinning, locked blades, and then the air above them.

"Where _what _are?" Sakura asked.

"You mean you can't see them?" Hilary was amazed. "Wow… I thought… you guys—believing in _demons_ of all things—would be able to see bitbeasts, but… you really can't see anything?"

Looking closer, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke could see that there was definitely _something _in the room. The loud crashing sounds—like two creatures coming up against each other—and bursts of low growling were clear indication of that. Additionally, as they stared at the air in front of them, they could see it shiver and writhe, much like the air above a hot flame. But other than that, they could see nothing.

"Bitbeast?" Sakura asked. "I only see hazy air."

"Bitbeasts can only be seen by people who believe in them…" Hilary said. "At least, that's what I thought… that's why I couldn't see them at first, I didn't believe… but I don't understand why you can't see them… None of you can see? Kakashi? Sakura? Sasuke? Naruto?" As she looked at each person they shook their head in turn until she got to Naruto, who was still staring, jaw hanging.

"Naruto?" Sakura probed.

"They…" Naruto stretched his jaw, closed it, then swallowed. "They're… beautiful…"

"What?" Sakura drew back, shocked.

"A Dragon… and a Tortoise… they're huge and shining… they're amazing…" Naruto sounded awestruck.

"You can see them!" Hilary sounded elated.

"You can see them?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"You can see them." Kakashi affirmed.

"…He can see them…" Sasuke's murmur was a quiet, resentful whisper.

Kenny, seated at his desk, rolled his eyes. "Ok _yes,_ he can see them!"

Everyone looked at him.

"What!?" Kenny said defensively. "Everyone else said it; I figured I might as well say it too!"

"Hey, I never said it!" Dizzy interjected proudly.

"Yeah, good for you for not falling to peer pressure, Dizzy." Kenny said sarcastically.

"So why _can _only Naruto see them?" Hilary directed the question at Kenny. He shrugged.

"We can figure that out later!" Sakura said impatiently as she saw the air shiver and a particularly loud _thump _sounded from somewhere to the left, a wooden crate spontaneously collapsed in a shower of splinters. "What do you see, Naruto?"

"Well, they're kinda fighting with each other. The Dragon—"

"Dragoon," Hilary corrected idly. "That's Tyson's bitbeast."

"Right. Dragoon has these massive, cool-looking claws and a huge tail that it sweeps around, that's what's causing all the wind… and the Tortoise—"

"Draciel" Hilary said.

"Draciel," Naruto nodded. "Is not really doing much, Dragoon is attacking it like crazy, but Draciel's huge shell is keeping it from getting hurt."

"That's because Max is waiting for the right moment to do his special attack." Hilary said. "Look down."

Everyone looked down at Tyson and Max who were suddenly panting heavily.

"Whoa! They look tired now!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes, because the energy it takes for their beasts to fight comes from them… and whenever the bitbeast takes damage, some of it transfers to them… so they might get hurt, even if it doesn't show up as a flesh wound." Hilary said.

"…Weird…" Naruto intoned.

"Anyway, Tyson is right in Max's path now, it's the perfect time for his attack." Hilary grinned. "Just wait 'till you see this!"

The air was still, and even the sound of the colliding beyblades seemed to be muted and far away. There was passed an uneasy, breathless moment, not unlike that of being in the eye of a storm. Then, rising gradually and bleeding into their ears, the ninja began to hear a steady, trickling sound—like that of a moving stream. The sound began to increase in sound and dynamics until it was raging—crashing like uncontrollable rapids.

"Look!" Sakura yelled pointing down.

A circle of glowing blue light had appeared around Max's blade and it was morphing, mutating like viscous energy, gradually melding, moulding, and growing around the blade until…

"It's water!" Naruto cried excitedly. "Draciel creates water!"

"But how is that possible!" Sakura yelled over the ever increasing sound of roaring water. "Kakashi-sensei, you can do water jutsu. You can only manipulate the water around you; you can't just create it, right?"

But no one was listening to Sakura's question. In unison, the four ninja's heads rose to stare in awe at the huge water dome Max had created out of nothing.

"DRACIEL!" Max screamed, throwing back his head. "GRAVITY!"

Immediately the sound of rushing waves died and in its place was left a deafening silence.

The dome shivered, then coagulated and began to rotate slowly. A deep blue light shone from somewhere within the dome and expanded outward, flickering and wavering with the movement of the water. The water dome shuddered and pulsed in a rippling bulge.

"DRAGOON!" Tyson's call came soon after Max's "TORNADO!"

Instantaneously, wind—howling, sharp, shearing, unforgiving—shattered the silence and swept through the room, rushing past Team 7, Hilary and Kenny, causing their clothes to flap and their hair to blow wildly.

"What, What IS this!?" Sakura called, putting a hand to hold her hair out of her face unsuccessfully.

"Dragoon!" Naruto answered, a wide grin on his face as he kept watching the invisible bitbeasts. "It controls the wind!"

The water and wind met in a chaotic clash, spraying droplets of water like swirling rain over Team 7. The two elements did not meet well, the wind only causing the water to stir up in an even more violet cyclone.

"Tyson's loosing focus!" Kenny called to Hilary. "He's attacking blindly! At this rate all he'll do is make Max's Gravity attack stronger!"

As though to prove Kenny's point, the swirl of water surged then expanded rapidly outward, swallowing the tornado. For a moment there was complete silence as the gigantic, dome of water rotated in a beautiful spectacle of nature and blue light. There was a hush, and the utter silence caused their eardrums to thrum as they all stared. Then, with a shudder, the water suddenly imploded on itself and collapsed. Water splashed upward and out like a tsunami and team 7 collectively prepared themselves to get drenched.

But before the water even reached them it was dissolving and evaporating in mid air: into tiny drops, then mist, then nothing. As suddenly as the raging water had come, it was gone. And the winds had died as well.

Sakura stood, mouth open, gaping at the place where the dome had been.

Naruto's eye were wide and shining with barely suppressed excitement.

Kakashi's expression was speculative.

And Sasuke was frowning.

"AND THE WINNER IS MAX!" Hilary's sudden call made Sakura and Naruto jump, even Sasuke jerked, his head shooting up. "BLADERS STEP DOWN FROM THE PLATFORMS!" There was a rumble of general murmuring from beneath the viewing deck as Tyson, Max, Rei and Kai descended from the Beydish and moved back to the central room of the warehouse. Hilary turned to the ninjas, an expectant look on her face.

"So?! What did you think?" She asked eagerly. "I know you couldn't see the bitbeasts, but you must have seen their final attacks. Now you _can't _tell me that beyblading is just a childish game anymore, can you?"

Seeing that his students were still beyond words, Kakashi answered for all of them. "Well, your first impression certainly made a _splash_." He looked proud of his witty pun, even as Sasuke sent his teacher a withering stare.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Seven-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Huh… You know I'm actually quite proud of this chapter, so I really hope you liked! Tell me, could you picture the fight as it happened? Were the descriptions clear? And if not, do tell me what was confusing so I can try and fix it later.

**Lhune: **Hee, hee, yes, Kai _is_ quite awesome, isn't he? :D I couldn't make him (or Rei) weak in comparison to the ninja… and besides, they _have _shown incredible jumping talents in the anime… so I decided to use it! XD But it does make you wonder, huh? How _are _they able to do it? Hmmm (rubs chin thoughtfully)… What? You thought I was going to tell you? Pfft, you're gonna hafta wait and find out! (Evil grin). But anyway, seriously, you like Hilary? Yay! I worked really hard to tone down her awful character from the anime (Man, I really couldn't stand her in season 2…). I actually really like having intelligent female characters around; and since Sakura at this age is… er… 'preoccupied' (lovestruck, more like *sigh*) I'm using Hilary. They have a purpose, and don't we all agree that it is absolutely great to be able to switch to Hilary or Sakura's point of view and take a… _closer_… look at Kai and Sasuke's relative, um… _attributes?_ XDD

**Darakna:** Heya! Yeah, so about Naruto… actually, I'm glad you liked the way I've portrayed him so far. I have a somewhat skewed idea of Naruto (dislike him in the anime, but in theory he's not so bad…) so writing him is a little difficult. I don't want to make him seem stupid, but I don't want him to be ultra-strong either XD Gargh, this is why moody, secretive guys are so much easier to portray, when you don't know what to make them say, just have them storm out of the room! Yeah! That always works! XDD (Like Kai and his flip-flopping between teams… Now _there's _a question: if this fic take place after season 3, how did he go from being with the Blitzkrieg boys to back to being the Bladebreaker's Captain? Hmmm (grin). Nope! It's not a plothole, just something I thought I'd throw out there for now (yeah, I'm evil XD).) Oh and really? You dreamed all those fights from Naruto? Ha! Wish I could do that, that would be pretty awesome… Most of my dreams involve drama and imminent doom in one way or another (I'm not kidding, I've fallen off a cliff, been shot, stabbed, run over and drowned in my dreams… I even came back as a ghost once o.O)… I know… I'm weird XD

**bb:** Er… you think this story would be better with yaoi?... Um… Well, that's not going to happen; so maybe you should try another fanfic or something… o.O'

**WolfSong: **Hiya! Thanks for reviewing! Um… please don't shed my blood… Unless, of course, you weren't talking about me, in which case shed away! Actually, I have some test dummies available (Points to Voltaire, Boris and Orochimaru trapped behind glass wall) so yup! Do your worst, I'll even sit and watch! XDD As for future updating schemes… er… oh goodness, I don't know, sorry! I update about once a month, but _when _in the month depends on my school schedule… Although I _can _tell you the next update won't be before Dec 17; that's when I have my last exam. But yeah, there just aren't enough BeybladexNaruto fics out there, are there? I have yet to find a well-written one that isn't based on humour or romance, so—being the proud owner of evil, relentless plotbunnies that I am (Stop. Eating. My. Carrots!... Er… eheh :3)—I had to write it myself XD Glad you like! Oh yeah and yes, I did write both this story and Sooryavansham :p What can I say? I have some sugar-hyper plotbunnies… that, and I have no social life XD

**Thank YOU to every single one of you who reviewed. You're reviews inspire me to write. I am not exaggerating, every time I read a review it gives me a push (coughshovecough) to write more on this fic: beckylovesgigs, Wah-Keetcha, Nameless Little Girl, sasukoi, Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, Dani Hiwatari, not the usual baka, terracannon876, Xenonwing, see-no-evil-san, CleverPhoenix, fawks136, Lhune, IrishPotatoes, Rika-Zurnat0, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, stephvamp25, Darakna, bb, WolfSong, Kia loves Ray, alanacrystal, Taijiya Mizu and Kuma the wolf alchemist!**

**Adio!**


	8. INTERMISSION: Eyes of Gold!

_**HIYA and Happy new year!**_

**Author's Blurb: **OVER 200 REVIEWS?!?! Gak! (topples over) Ok… ok… (claws way back onto chair) Wow… That's… Seriously amazing. Thanks everyone! Oh! And as a side note, I made some edits to chapters 1 and 2: nothing major, just fixed some silly mistakes… It reads more smoothly now.

* * *

**I¤I**

**NOW! **I HAVE A** NOTICE** for all of you: **From January to April I will be gone to France—yes, **_**France**_**—to study in French. Now, during this time I will do my best to update, but I am not sure how much access I will have to the internet.** Sorry guys! I really can't make any promises for the updating scheme over the next four months…

**I¤I**

**

* * *

**

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I** …_(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I** …_**(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto_ _crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

_**J. Gregory Keyes**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Eight-.,'**_

_INTERMISSION: Eyes of Gold!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

"Ha! I won!" As Team 7 descended to the ground floor Max came bounding up to them, kicking up dirt in his wake and practically radiant with glee. He skidded to a stop directly in front of the ninja and bounced on the balls of his feet. "So did you see? What did you think?" The grin on his face was infectious.

Having left the brightly lit stadium, the ninja and Bladebreakers had moved back into the storage room of the warehouse. The glowing fluorescent lights of the stadium were left behind and only barest amount of pale yellow, natural light flickered in from the shuttered windows near the steepled ceiling of the warehouse. A dirt floor, red bricked walls and stacks of old, discarded machinery and crates surrounded them; clouds of dust floated up lazily in the broken beams of sunlight, giving the room a creepy abandoned atmosphere.

It didn't help that the crow from the Beystadium had accompanied them back into the storage room. Occasionally it would call out; its grating caws—amplified by the size of the room—echoed eerily.

"It was great!" Naruto stepped up, eyes shinning. "Those… what are they called—Bitbeasts?—are amazing! Where did you get them? And how does it work? Can I have one?!"

Max opened his mouth to reply when a louder voice drowned him out.

"I can't believe I lost!" Tyson fumed as stormed up to the group, Rei and Kai following behind him. Tyson whirled around and faced Kai full on, pointing his finger at the older boy's chest. "This is _your _fault! You knocked me out of the _zone_ with all your talk about me being stubborn and pigheaded! I bet you planned that, didn't you? You probably gave Max some supped-up addition to his blade too just so—"

With a flick of his wrist, Kai slapped the offending finger away from his chest with the back of his hand. "I did no such thing." He said calmly. "You lost because you got cocky and you know it. Max did well in seeing through your weakness." Here Kai gave Max a short, approving glance.

Max's smile seemed to widen even more, if that were possible. Compliments from Kai were as rare as hail in a desert. "Thanks, Kai."

"Well, then." Rei spoke up and the attention of the two groups went to him. As usual, he was standing away from everyone, his arms crossed as he eyed the ninja guardedly. "We've done our part, now it's your turn."

"But…" Sakura hesitated.

"What, you're backing out? You made a deal; and here I thought ninja were supposed to be _trustworthy_." Rei's sneering comment caused a flash of hostility to ignite within the three young genin.

"Alright! That's it!" Naruto advanced on the other boy, fists clenched. Rei leaned back in his stance as the blond neared, raising an eyebrow and tensing, but making no other movement. "What is WITH you? We practically just met and this entire time you've been breathing down our necks and being nasty! We never did anything to you; so why don't you just lay off?!"

"Never did anything…?" Rei's quiet voice held a tone of disbelief. There was a spark in his eyes and for a second Naruto thought the pupils of Rei's eyes had thinned, but in the next moment the effect was gone and Naruto believed he'd imagined it. Rei continued. "Do you know nothing of your own history?" His voice was low, expression cagey.

Naruto's anger faded in his sudden confusion. "What?"

"Ok, ok, that's enough…" Kakashi was suddenly between the two boys. He looked at Naruto first then Rei. His gaze stayed on Rei. "The time for fighting is over. We are in a time of peace and it is not the place of children to fight the wars settled by their grandfathers." Kakashi's words seemed to have an instant effect on Rei, who quickly looked down in angry uncertainty, his face shinning with hurt pride. Silently, Kakashi noted that the vibrant gold colour in the boy's irises had dimmed back to a more normal amber, it was a good sign.

"What… what are you guys talking about?" Tyson asked the question to no one in particular and got no answer. Looking around though, he noticed that everyone except Kakashi and Rei appeared perplexed about the strange interaction that had just occurred. Everyone that is, except the dark-haired guy—Sasuke, Tyson remembered his name was—who just looked dark and angry, and Kai, who just looked, well, like Kai usually did: his expression flatter than a wall.

"Sakura…" Hilary suddenly spoke up, deciding it was in everyone's interest to try and break the tension. "What were you going to say… before?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked and looked up, momentarily confused. Mentally, she rewound the conversation and then realization came. She blinked. "Oh! Yes, I was just going to say that we never really got to see your bitbeast—except Naruto—so we still don't know what this 'Beyblade' thing really is…"

"What, you didn't see it?" Max asked, crestfallen. He had hoped these ninja would have seen his amazing win.

"Oh… I'm sorry!" Sakura, reacting to the boy's drop in mood, sought to give comfort. "We saw that reverse rotation manoeuvre you did though, and it was pretty cool. And there was no way we could miss all that water and wind. It was amazing!" Sakura didn't have to fake the awe in her voice as she said the last part.

Max's mouth quirked, and then pulled up into a smile, grateful for her consolation. "Thanks."

"So wait… Why couldn't you see our bitbeasts?" Tyson frowned. "You could?" He looked at Naruto, who nodded. "But no one else could?" Sakura shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense!" Tyson cried, throwing his hands out. He tossed his head, sending his dark ponytail flying.

"For now let's just move on." Kenny spoke from where he'd placed Dizzy on a crate. The boy reached small fingers under his mousy brown bangs, scratching at one eyebrow. "I'll analyze the data from the fight and then see if I can find some reason for your inability to see the Bitbeasts."

"Or rather…" Dizzy put in. "_I'll _analyze the data; you can search while I'm working."

Kenny smiled. "That's great, Dizzy." And he leaned into the artificial glow of his laptop.

"So! Are we doing this or not?" Naruto, having gotten bored of the conversation, moved on the next topic. He gave Sasuke a challenging stare, tilting his chin upward. "Oie! Teme! Are you gonna fight me or are you too chicken?"

Sasuke stepped toward Naruto, confronting the slightly shorter boy with a smirk of his own. "Aah, _dobe_. You should be honoured."

"Oh?! What?" Naruto grinned toothily and backed up into an area that was clear of crates and machinery. The pale light from the sun caught his shadow, elongating it behind him. Sasuke followed his team mate; they never broke eye contact. "The powerful and omnipotent Uchiha thinks I'm finally up to his standards, eh? Well, I got news for ya, Sasuke! I've always been your equal, and now I'm gonna prove it to ya! I'm gonna pummel you!"

These words seemed to make Sasuke pause for a moment. As he moved into place in the centre of the warehouse, he drew a small semicircle in the dirt floor with his foot thoughtfully, testing the give of the ground and the traction his feet had. Naruto… _his _equal? Sasuke scoffed. "You shouldn't use such big words, _usuratonkachi_." He mocked, looking up with hooded eyes. "They might break your brain; then who will amuse me?"

"Oh, so I amuse you huh?" Naruto said cheekily.

"Only when you do something worth mentioning." Sasuke responded dryly.

"Like what? Astound you with my amazing ninjutsu skills?" Naruto asked cockily, striking a pose.

"No." Sasuke's answer came smoothly. "Like when you keep your mouth closed for more than two seconds strung together."

"Why you—!"

"Alright, that's enough you two." Kakashi walked between them and motioned for the boys to back up from one another. "Now, this will be a good, _clean_ fight. I don't want to see either of you burning the building down." A pointed glance in Sasuke's direction. "Or accidentally mistaking someone in the audience for a disguised opponent." A look at Naruto.

"One time! ONE time I did that!" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. "No one even got hurt!"

"Yeah, well you're lucky Sasuke-kun has such good reflexes, or we'd've had to explain why the ambassador got flattened into a pancake after being buried by a dozen Narutos!" Sakura yelled from outside the makeshift fighting ring.

The Bladebreakers watched the exchange blankly.

There was a large circular area cleared in the centre on the warehouse. The floor was made of beaten down dirt and just enough light passed through the windows to bask the vicinity in a faded glow. Tall supporting pillars were placed intermittingly through the area, though not densely enough to be a real problem. Wooden box crates lined the edge of the ring and this was where Sakura and the Bladebreakers spread out: Tyson, Max, Hilary and Sakura sitting on them while Kenny used his as a table and Rei and Kai stood against a couple of the larger ones.

"Hey Sakura," Max, seated crossed-legged on a crate, leaned over to the girl sitting near to him while Kakashi continued to list off rules to Naruto and Sasuke. "Can I ask you something?"

Sakura, who was sitting at the edge of a different box—her hands planted on either side of her legs—swung her feet and nodded. "Sure."

"Naruto and Sasuke… they keep saying those same words to each other: _teme, dobe _and _usuratonkachi_… but um…" Max scratched the back of head nervously. "Well… I was wondering… what do they mean?"

Sakura looked at the boy in surprise. "You don't know?"

"Ah, well…" Max grinned sheepishly. "My first language is English, I only learned Japanese recently—I can speak it normally, like we're doing right now—but I don't really know all the different nuances yet…"

"Oh!" Sakura's eyes widened in realization. "That's why you have such an interesting accent! So you really are American! I've never actually met someone from the west before; what's America like?"

Max smiled. "It's umm… well, the food's a whole lot different, that's for sure! You probably won't find many ramen stands, so Naruto would probably starve." Max laughed and Sakura grinned, the blond teen hadn't even known the Konoha ninja for a day and already he had Naruto pegged. "So can you tell me what those words mean?" Max asked again.

"Oh yes!... Ah… hm… how to explain this?" Sakura put a finger to her lips. "Well… dobe is probably the easiest: it means idiot, plain and simple. Teme is the informal and insulting form for 'you' which could probably translate into some English curse word like _bastard._" She said the last word in English.

"You speak English?" Max asked, surprised. The word had been clipped and awkward on Sakura's lips, but still understandable.

Sakura nodded. "Some. Now, last… _usuratonkachi_… well, it's not a very widely used word." A smile played at the corner of her lips. "But there's Sasuke-kun for you, he's always been unique. _Usuratonkachi_ is basically a metaphor where '_tonkachi_' means 'hammer' and '_usura' _means 'thin'… so if you put it together it means 'thin hammer' which translates as useless, or loser or something like that."

"Ah… I see…" Max raised his eyebrows and nodded. "They really don't like each other do they?"

Sakura giggled. "They have a love-hate relationship, shall we say."

Max gave her a weird look.

Sakura's expression immediately turned aghast. "No! No! I didn't mean it like that at all! I mean, Naruto would never… And Sasuke-kun! No! I mean once they… but it was an accident! Naruto fell on Sasuke-kun! Nonono—" Her rambling denial stopped though, when she realized Max was laughing.

"…Should have seen… your face!" Max choked out between chuckles. "All red!"

Sakura flushed all the brighter and roughly crossed her arms, huffing. "That's not funny!"

* * *

******-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**  


**

* * *

**

Rei stood on Kai's right. Neither teen said a word to the other as they watched Kakashi gave his last directions to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Now, I want you remember that this is a _practice _match. You are not fighting an enemy; you are fighting your team mate and I trust you _both _to not let things get out of hand." Kakashi said firmly. There passed a tense silence and grave looks between the three ninja. Rei leaned over to Kai.

"They're hiding something from us." He said quietly. "That's so typical; they're going to bring their own baggage on our trip and drag us into something we don't want to be a part of. You'll see, just wait."

There was a moment of quiet.

"Rei, personally I don't care what your issue is with these people; it's not my problem. But don't let this become a distraction to your Beyblading because then it _will _be my problem, understand?" Kai's head tilted and he bestowed on Rei a side-long, piercing stare that spoke volumes.

"Yes, Captain." Rei grumbled and looked away, the corner of his mouth curled into a scowl but he said no more.

"Hey, hey!" Sakura's voice, calling from somewhere to their left, caught both Kai and Rei's attention and they looked over. "Kakashi gave the signal for us to back away a bit. He's going to start the match but we need to get a little further away from the fighting."

"Why?" Max's perplexed voice floated over.

"Well… The chances are small, but we don't want anyone to get hurt by a misaimed kunai or something." Sakura scrunched her nose. "I mean, Sasuke-kun would never miss, but Naruto is a little sloppy sometimes."

"Can't even control their own weapons…" Rei, mood still sour, couldn't help the caustic comment. Wary of Kai's presence near him though, Rei wisely kept his voice a quiet undertone. And whatever else he wanted to add remained as incensed mental commentary.

Once the group had moved a sufficient distance away, and—under Sakura's insistence—clustered tightly together in the shadows of a few crates, she finally allowed them settle down again.

"Aww…" Tyson whined. "I can't see anything from here! Why can't we just go up to the second floor?" Tyson looked pointedly at the rickety ladder leading up to the strip of metal grating above.

"And let you do a Naruto off the railing? I don't think so!" Sakura raised an eyebrow at Tyson, referring to Naruto's spectacular fall off the flimsy railing earlier.

"We don't have to stand on the rail." Tyson rolled his eyes. "We can just sit on the edge."

Sakura still looked skeptical.

"We're not babies, you know. You might be our bodyguards but we _can _actually look after ourselves. We're not going to do anything stupid." Tyson said, his tone exasperated.

Sakura returned this comment with an eye-roll of her own. "I don't think—"

"Come on, Sakura." Hilary stepped up behind Tyson and Sakura looked up at the other girl, surprised that she was defending Tyson. "It _is _more practical. We'll be able to see, at least. And if this ninja thing is as dangerous as you say then we'll be safer higher up, right?"

"I guess… but…" Sakura looked uncertain as she tucked a strand of light pink hair behind one ear.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Tyson and prevent him from throwing himself over the edge." Hilary smirked, her mahogany eyes twinkling.

Sakura sighed and threw up one hand in frustration, waving dismissively. "Fine, fine, do what you want. But don't go blaming me if something goes wrong."

Hilary gave Sakura an indulgent smile. And the group made their way to the ladder.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

Tyson, Max, Hilary, Kenny and Sakura had seated themselves at the edge of the metal platform. Rei and Kai stood behind them and they all watched Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi who stood below them in the improvised fighting ring.

Sakura had a few kunai daggers in her hand, which she was showing to Max.

"See, the handle is wrapped in cloth," She ran a finger up the short, triangular blade before tapping the thinner handle which had a strip of white material wound around it. "Then there's this hole at the top so that we can attach it to our belts, though a lot of ninja like to spin the kunai around to practice dexterity."

"And for fun," Max grinned knowingly while Sakura shrugged. "Y'know, it's weird… I dunno." Max looked at the dagger, perplexed. "That hole at the top makes it look like a keychain or something."

Sakura's brows furrowed and her expression mirrored Max's. "What's a keychain?"

Max stared at Sakura for a few moments, as though trying to determine if she was kidding or not. The serious expression she held made him realize it was the latter and Max smiled to hide his surprise. "Ah… It's a decoration… to keep keys on, just a sec." Max fumbled with his pockets before drawing out his own set of keys. It was a simple keychain: with a metal disk hanging off a small ring that held both his house keys, but it got the point across.

Sakura stared at the tiny thing in fascination. She fingered the keys that dangled from the ring hooked on Max's finger, "They're so tiny!" She clinked them against each other by tapping one lightly with her fingernail. "I know what you mean now though. That ring they're on, we call it a keyring."

"Keyring?" Max repeated as he replaced his keys in his pocket.

"Yeah, well, we—ninjas—don't use locks and keys very much. I've only every seen them on really old jail cells, you know the huge, iron type?"

Max nodded with a low 'Hmm'; in his mind he was picturing some medieval, 16th century, torture chamber.

"Well," Sakura continued, unaware of Max's morbid thoughts. "When you have chakra, locks aren't very useful—we could break them in no time… Picking them isn't hard either." She added as an afterthought.

Max decided that it really was a good thing these ninja were on his side. "Uh huh."

"Actually, most houses in Konoha don't even have locks… Really, in a village full of ninja, it's not going to be one tiny lock that keeps the thieves away." She said with a wry laugh. "If we want to make sure no one gets into a room we seal it—place traps around it."

"Right…" Max stared, his eyes somewhat widened. He didn't know really how to respond to that. "Remind me never to go over to your house… Ever." Sakura laughed again. "Anyways," Max continued. "Tell me more about those… ninja star things that you were talking about."

Sakura nodded and put away the kunai before pulling out a set of shiny, circular blades. "They're called _shuriken, _actually. These and the kunai are the two weapons that we use most often."

Max inclined his head and looked at the shuriken speculatively. They looked very similar to Beyblade attack rings.

Sitting near the two, but not quite listening to their conversation, Tyson leaned backward, digging his fingers into the small holes in the grating. "When are they going to start?"

"Now. They were just waiting for us to get settled." Sakura assured, moving away from Max and replacing the shuriken in her pouch. She gazed down toward the lower floor and watched as Sasuke rolled his head to the side and proceeded to do a few stretches. She spared Tyson a quick look. "Make sure you don't touch the railing, we don't want it to break."

"Yes, mother." Tyson chuckled, tossing his head and throwing heavy, dark bangs off his face.

Sakura shot him a glare.

From their position about two stories up, the Bladebreakers and Sakura had a good view of everything that was going on between Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke. They were far enough away to avoid flying kunai and shuriken, but close enough to catch most of the conversation going on below them.

"Alright, Naruto! Sasuke!" Kakashi raised one hand into the air. "To first blood. And… Fight!"

With a small explosion and puff of smoke, Kakashi disappeared and Naruto and Sasuke threw themselves at each other.

Tyson and Max's mouths immediately dropped open at the sheer speed the ninja displayed as they rushed each other. Hilary though, was the first to notice the glimmer of silver in their hands and she gasped aloud, throwing a hand to her mouth.

"They're fighting with real weapons! Real! I thought you were joking about that! How can you—why?" Hilary's head snapped to the side as she looked at Sakura with wide, fearful eyes.

Sakura just rolled her head to the side, not bothering to take her eyes of the fighting duo below. "Give us more credit than that. They're trained; they're not going to kill each other. Just watch."

Looking somewhat green, Hilary nonetheless turned her attention back to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Yo teme!" Naruto grinned widely. "Heads up!" And snapping his wrist out, Naruto loosed three shuriken from between his fingers.

Kenny's knuckles were white as he clutched Dizzy and Tyson, Max and Hilary watched, horrified, as the lethal weapons sped toward the dark haired boy.

But in less than a second, Sasuke's hand had gone to the pack strapped to his thigh and returned; three kunai in his hand. He jumped to the side.

In quick succession, Sasuke threw each blade. With precision that should have been impossible, each one struck a shuriken dead center, catching it through the hole in the center and shoving it backward on an angle. Three dull thuds were heard as the kunai imbedded into three different crates, the shuriken neatly trapped by the blade.

"No way—!" Whatever Tyson was going to add to that statement was immediately forgotten as Sasuke took a running leap from the ground.

Showing off a great deal more grace than Naruto's earlier jump, Sasuke rose high into the air, kicking up a spray of dust behind him. Tucking one knee underneath him, he kept his body straight, then inverted it—his feet rising until they were straight up in the air—and spun, completing a full 360 degree lateral rotation in mid-air. Naruto, not seeing the attack in time, kept running forward, passing directly under Sasuke.

Sasuke's hand came down, planting itself directly on Naruto's head. Snapping his head up, Naruto only barely managed to throw his arms around his face when Sasuke's foot came slashing down—right into Naruto's sloppy shield.

The hit did not draw blood, but it did throw Naruto back into a line crates. When Naruto flew backward, Sasuke lost the support beneath himself; but if he was unbalanced it didn't show as the boy swiftly brought his feet underneath him and landed neatly on the ground, straightening his back in a movement that exuded arrogance.

"Oie, _dobe_," Sasuke called haughtily. "What was that you said about being my equal?"

From above, Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary were in a state of shock.

"They're so_ fast_! It's… incredible!" Max gaped.

"How did he DO that?" Tyson asked rhetorically.

"A kick like that, at that speed… to be able to fight at such a high level when they're just teenagers…!" Kenny mumbled, he quickly fiddled with Dizzy, rushing to turn on his camera so he could record and analyze the fight.

"You always fight like this?" Hilary asked Sakura, astonished.

Sakura couldn't help the slightly smug smirk that crossed her face. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Behind the amazed teens, Rei and Kai had quite a different atmosphere around them. Neither youth spoke, but while Rei looked like he was fighting to keep the scowl off his face, Kai's expression was unreadable.

"So! What'd I miss?" Kakashi's voice suddenly came from Kai's left.

Tyson, Max, Hilary and Kenny all jumped and only a quick scramble on Kenny's part saved Dizzy from what could have been a dangerous fall.

"Careful!" Sakura cried as the small boy clamoured to settle his laptop more safely to the side. Dizzy screamed at and berated the mortified boy as he apologized to her profusely.

"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" Tyson yelled, pointing a finger at Kakashi, who tilted his head to the side in a distinctly amused gesture.

"It's another ninja technique." Sakura said hurriedly. "We can disappear and appear a short distance away. Now stop talking and watch; we're missing stuff!" And she along with the four younger Bladebreakers turned their attention back to the fight.

"So, what did I miss?" Kakashi seemed to actually be serious about the question, and as he leaned back—folding his arms behind his head—he raised an eyebrow at Kai.

Rei, who was standing on Kai's other side, had not jumped at the elder ninja's unexpected entrance and he did not acknowledged him now. Instead, the stony expression fixed on his face as he kept glaring down in Naruto and Sasuke's general direction.

"Your student successfully managed to skewer a row of crates. It would have been a rather more unfortunate circumstance had we not moved." Kai's voice was a monotone, but there was a certain steely quality about it.

Kakashi looked down; and indeed, one of the crates Sasuke's kunai had pierced had been the exact one Tyson had been perching on not five minutes ago.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you moved, hm?" Kakashi said lightly.

"Is that all you can say?" Rei asked sharply, bending around Kai to get a better view of Kakashi. "One of us could've gotten seriously hurt and all you say is 'it's a good thing you moved'?!" Rei's lip curled and one long canine briefly gleamed in the light.

"Rei…" Kai's tone held a subtle command and Rei threw himself back against the wall with a sharp exhalation. Kai's eyes then shifted to Kakashi and the ninja bore the teen's gaze evenly. "I trust that they have better control than this."

If Kakashi smiled, it was invisible from beneath his face mask. "Yes. Sasuke's aim is just short of perfect and Naruto is not careless enough to throw a kunai into an audience of civilians. They fight like this because they know they have the luxury of space. You can trust us not to let any misaimed weapons harm one of your team mates." And really, this is what it came down to. Kai was wary that the ninja would loose control of their weapons and seriously injure his team. But to a ninja, whose very livelihood depended on his weapon mastery, the very insinuation of incompetence was a gross insult.

Kakashi conveyed this feeling clearly as he turned his head to look at Kai full on.

But Kai either didn't care, or felt his impudence was just, because he ignored Kakashi's gaze completely.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Eight-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

Anyone else notice that '_zone_' is a REALLY odd word? O.o

Oh yes and PLEASE don't beat me up over the keychain-keyring thing (sheepish grin). I have absolutely NO IDEA where that conversation came from. Seriously, it's one of the most random things I've written, but every time I went to take it out I'd stop myself. I wanted them to have a normal, random conversation that describes a little bit of the ninja's deficiency in modern things. I've never seen anyone in Naruto use an actual KEY and… ok yeah… I'll stop talking now XD

**Darakna:** Heya!! So yeah, that beybattle was madness to write (GAH! Detailing invisible bitbeasts… T.T). I'm glad you liked it! ^.^ Personally I do like Max, but I think he never gets enough credit… the anime focuses too much on Tyson and his super fantastic, never-failing abilities (rolls eyes). I figured Kai, if anyone, would be able to see through Tyson's cockiness and with Kai on his side, how could Max loose? XD Oh and YES! It IS just so typical of Naruto to be able to see something no one else can, huh? Anyways, hope you liked the chapter! Coming up next: Naruto and Sasuke's fight!

**Sciura: **Hi! Nope, you hadn't already reviewed so yeah, I'm glad you wrote ^.^ Anyways, yeah, it IS odd that the ninjas saw the water and wind but not the actual bitbeasts, isn't it? ;p I worked extra hard to make that fight 'visual' (does that make sense?) so it's great to hear that you liked it. Now I'm setting you up for the fight between Naruto and Sasuke (ooh boy, I'm kinda nervous 'bout that fight, I can't wait to hear what you think about it!). And yeah, thanks, it's nice to hear that you don't mind my take on no romance/slash etc. in the fic. I'm not really a fan of that… and I can't write it for beans so… XD. Anyway, I'm sorry to hear that you're frustrated with Sooryavansham; hehe, I know the plot is slow but I hope you're still enjoying it ^.^'

**WolfSong:** Thank YOU for the review! :D I know, I know, I gotta update my other story, but writing those chapters always takes more involved effort (I always spent more time on that fic) and… ok yeah, I admit, I've been lazy (guilty! XD). But I'll try to update as soon as I can. Meanwhile, hope you liked this chapter!

**StunningGhost: **Hiya!! Yay! Thanks for the awesome review! So you also think that Hilary was annoying in the anime, huh? (Rolls eyes) I dunno why they portrayed her like that; I mean, she has a lot of potential: being the only girl on the Bladebreakers… but eh, well… Do you find that female characters in anime shows are almost always annoying, corny or clichéd in some way?... Oh! I just realized that you have a FFdotnet account! I could have send you a PM! Sorry 'bout that! Ah well, I hope you don't mind me responding to your review here =D And I hope you liked the chappie!

**Feonix** **In Ashes: **Hello! Thakies for reviewing! And yay! (claps) I'm glad you think everyone's in character; I tried especially hard on the Naruto characters, since it's my first time writing them (grr… stupid Kakashi and his witty one liners T_T… it's even worse when he and Kai get together (rolls eyes) XD). I'm glad you like the humour… I'm almost shamefully proud of every smart-alecky comment I stumble onto so it's great to hear that you like 'em (grins widely). Now! To answer your question… ah… It's a little complicated (sheepish grin). See, when I heard his name in the anime, I assumed it was spelled 'Rei', not 'Ray'. Then, the first few fanfics I read used 'Rei'. By the time that I found out the English spelling was actually 'Ray' I'd already gotten used to 'Rei' and the English spelling just looked wrong. ^.^ I know, it doesn't make much sense, but I figured the two spellings are so close it wouldn't make too much difference (rather than, say, using 'Boris' instead of 'Bryan'). Anyway… yeah… that's the gist of my reasoning =p I hope you enjoyed the update!

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, Phoenix of the Northern Lights, Dani Hiwatari, terracannon876, blackblood1616, sasukoi, beybladeingninjaprincess, Haro kzoids, TheFallenangel927, Pampers Baby Dry **(Ha! I love your name XD)**, setsuko teshiba, dimonyo-anghel, Xenonwing, CleverPhoenix, Okamikai, vlissan, Namless Little Girl, scarletmirror, Seventy Thousand Ways, Wah-Keetcha, Miako6, Darakna, stephvamp25, Petalwhisker X Pireheart, BloodRedViolet, d1botemp, Kavbj **(Hey, hey! Your name… it's capitalized now! I thought it was all lowercase… did you change it?... Or was it always like that and I'm just rambling randomly o.O… XD)**, lady KCassandra, , Thunder Gardian **(Love your display pic! ^.^)**, Sciura, WolfSong, StunningGhost, Kai's-Suzaku, Feonix In Ashes**, **Miharu-desu **and **beckylovesgigs** (Sorry for forgetting to add you before!!)

So many reviews… O_O Wow… ^.^ I'm happy that so many people are enjoying this story! You all are part of the reason why it's so much fun to write.

* * *

**I¤I**

**AND! **For everyone who missed the **NOTICE **at the top of the chapter: **I will be gone to France from Jan 11 to April 11**. This means that updates will probably slow down AND **I will not be answering reviews during this time. **I'm sorry, but there's no other alternative; I just won't have the time or internet access to answer reviews... I can tell you all though that even if I don't respond, I'll still be reading and enjoying all your comments!

**I¤I**

**

* * *

**

Again, I'm sorry about all this!

**Adio!**


	9. TAKE TWO: Excellent Fight no Jutsu!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **Hello from France! So… I have internet… barely… which basically sums up to me updating at sporadic intervals over the next three months (shrugs). I'll try not to leave you all hanging for too long though!

Righty!

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I** …_(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I** …_**(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto_ _crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

_**J. Gregory Keyes**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Nine-.,'**_

TAKE TWO:_ Excellent Fight no Jutsu!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

Sasuke stood with his hand hovering over the weapons pouch strapped to his right thigh as he eyed warily the spot where Naruto had crashed into the group of crates that lined their makeshift fighting ring. Noticing that he was standing directly in the one of the thin rays of sunlight flittering into the warehouse, the teen took a subtle step to the side—throwing his figure into deeper shadow. As Sasuke moved, he scuffed a thin line into the granulose, packed dirt with his toes; but his eyes never left the mess of broken wood from which Naruto was currently detaching himself.

"Not bad, _teme_," Naruto staggered to his feet, grinning widely and without a scratch on him. He brought a thumb up to one cheek, attempting to wipe off a smudge of dirt but only succeeding in spreading it further. "But you forgot one thing."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what's that, _dobe_?"

"I've got numbers on my side."

And Sasuke was unceremoniously buried by a mound of Naruto clones.

"HA! Take that! Not equal my foot! With all these guys on my side, I'm MORE than a match for you!" Naruto crowed, throwing his head back with a laugh.

Two floors above, seated and standing on a thin metal grating as they watched the match, the Bladebreakers were once again displaying reactions of shock and awe.

"_That is so awesome_!" Max leaned forward on the railing, azure eyes shining in excitement.

"NO WAY—!!" Tyson was spluttering. "He can clone himself!? No fair!!"

"That's—that's—physically impossible…" Kenny seemed to be having trouble coming to grips with this revelation.

Sakura was looking at all their expressions with a mixture of vast amusement and pride. "Chakra." Was her simple explanation.

"That's insane: you're chakra can do all this different stuff?!" Hilary cried.

"That is SO not fair!!" Tyson whined. "You know how useful that would be in a Beybattle? I mean, not even Kevin could do that… Imagine if I could clone Dragoon…" Tyson's eyes grew hazy at the thought.

"Kevin?" Sakura raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Another beyblader." Hilary answered dismissively. "He can temporarily split his beyblade into four. Nasty technique, annoying as anything."

"Oh…" Sakura said vaugely, still not quite getting it.

"Hey, what's going on?" Max asked, pointing down below.

The heap of Narutos was slowly diminishing as one after another they evaporated into puffs of smoke. The bodies wriggled and fought, focusing their attention on the center of the mass; but there seemed to be something wrong.

"Hmm…" Sakura frowned, leaning forward. "It looks like Naruto wanted to bury Sasuke-kun in clones and somehow get his hit in that way… but it looks like the clones can't find what they're looking for…" Suddenly her eyes lit up and she looked up and away from the pile of Narutos. She searched the air with her eyes.

"What is it?" Hilary raised her eyebrows and watched Sakura's odd behaviour curiously.

"Sasuke-kun must've used _Kawarimi_ _no Jutsu,_ a switching technique." Sakura answered. "That means he got away and is somewhere else." Suddenly everyone was scouring the deep shadows of the room for Sasuke's hidden figure.

Just then, a rain of kunai came down on the Naruto clones, cutting through a number of them and causing them to simultaneously pop and explode. By now, the real Naruto—standing a little ways from his clones—was also looking around the room in expectation.

"Hey, Sasuke!" He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Never pegged you for one to hide in the shadows! What is it? Are ya too scared to fight me?" Naruto grinned, challenge gleaming in his eyes.

"Not at all." Sasuke's voice came quiet and low right behind Naruto. Pure instinct drove Naruto to dive to the ground and roll to the side. There was a rustle fabric and the air whistled above the blond's head as Sasuke swung downward—kunai in hand—in a strike that could have severed the other's arm from his body.

"What the hell?!" Tyson cried indignantly. "He could've killed Naruto! Why are they fighting with real weapons anyway? They could get seriously hurt!"

Sakura's eyes fell on Tyson, and her slighting look seemed to convey just how naïve she thought he was.

"Tyson…" It was Rei that responded to Tyson's statement and the younger boy twisted his body backward to look at the other teen. "Think about what they do for a living."

Tyson thought for a moment, then paled as realization hit. He swallowed and turned back. "But why do they have to fight like that with _each other_?" He asked determinedly, though his voice was subdued.

"We train with the weapons we will use for the rest of our lives. To do less is to be ignorant of reality; and an ignorant ninja is a suicidal ninja." Kakashi's casual response made the younger Bladebreakers stare at him widely before exchanging glances with each other. No more was said on the topic.

All the way down on the ground—unbeknown to the Bladebreakers, Kakashi and Sakura—Naruto and Sasuke were having their own quiet conversation.

"Hehe, yo _teme_, it's good to be fighting like this, isn't it?" Naruto grinned, looking up at Sasuke from his crouch. He'd cancelled his Shadow Clone jutsu, wiping out his innumerable clones and leaving just him and Sasuke alone in the ring.

"What the hell are you talking about, _dobe_?" Sasuke swept his dark bangs out of his eyes impatiently as he sunk further into his stance. What did Naruto think he was doing?

Suddenly, the blond ninja dropped his fighting stance and stood up straight, completely unguarded. Sasuke nearly lowered his own arms at that unexpected move. Catching himself, he instead tightened his fist around the kunai in his palm and narrowed his eyes. If Naruto thought he was going to catch him off-guard with such a stupid ploy…

"Oh come _on_, Sasuke! Lighten up; I just wanna talk for a sec." Naruto rolled his eyes as he gestured casually in the air. Sasuke saw there were no weapons in the other ninja's hands and it hit him that Naruto was serious.

"Did that fall from the balcony damage your brain or something?" Sasuke sneered, half derisive, half incredulous. "This is a fight. Now come at me before I throw this kunai into the space between your eyes."

The threat didn't even faze Naruto, who still had that silly, lopsided grin on his face. He walked to the side and Sasuke's eyes stalked the blond's feet like a hawk. "It's not even a real fight, Sasuke. It's just a show for the Bladebreakers."

Sasuke scowled. It was true that Kakashi had forbidden them from using either the Chidori or Rasengan, since either attack could bring the entire building down; so they had been stripped of their most powerful attacks. As much Sasuke chafed at that, it did not take away from the fact that this was still a _fight_. "You take every battle seriously, _dobe_. You do this," He eyed Naruto's laid back posture. "In real life and you'll be dead before you can say 'overcooked ramen'."

Naruto huffed, but still didn't heed Sasuke's words. "Look," He said, "Just relax for a minute, Sasuke! You always take stuff so seriously! Would it kill you to just smile once in awhile?" Naruto put his index fingers to his cheeks, as though to show Sasuke his own blinding grin. "See? It's not that hard."

And _this _was why Sasuke couldn't stand Naruto. His insufferable, endless, constantly sunny—_ignorant_—attitude grated on every nerve Sasuke had. It literally made his teeth grind together. _Relax_, Naruto said, _relax! _Sasuke would _not_ relax. Could _not_ relax. It was a waste of time. And it was _pointless_. It gained him _nothing._

"Are you going to keep standing there flapping your mouth like an idiot or are you actually gonna fight me?" Sasuke gripped, realizing belatedly that he almost sounded petulant.

"In a second." Naruto waved Sasuke's question off, much to the other's chagrin. "I just want to say something first."

It occurred to Sasuke that he would either have to attack Naruto while he was unguarded, or let the blond have his say, because Naruto was not going to let this go. "Fine," Sasuke glowered, shifting in his stance. The tip of the kunai dipped but, stubbornly, he refused to relax. "Hurry up."

"Well… I've always wanted to fight you, you know?" Naruto started.

"So?" Sasuke prompted impatiently.

"Well..." Naruto paused in thought and Sasuke had to repress a long-suffering sigh. "It just seems like… well… I kinda thought you wanted to fight me too."

Sasuke said nothing, though one eyebrow arched.

"But then," Naruto snuck a wary, sideways glance at Sasuke. "All that stuff happened with your brother."

'_Itachi'_

Sasuke's body immediately seized and his expression turned black. "Don't talk about him." He hissed.

Itachi. Itachi threw him aside for _this_—this!—pathetic, stupid, weak… _dobe!_

"Look, whatever happened with you and him, it's not my business!" Naruto, probably feeling Sasuke's sudden spike in angry chakra, raised his hands defensively. "Really! I just wanted to say that I have no idea why he came for me that day! I've never even met him! Seriously, Sasuke, I _know _you're upset about that; I'm not stupid."

"You know _nothing!_" Sasuke advanced on Naruto and threw an angry punch at him. Naruto ducked the attack as it flew over his head and crashed through a crate. Broken wood and splinters were all that was left of the box when Sasuke withdrew his hand. Chakra swirled around the limb, Sasuke's fist was completely unharmed.

"Stop! Stop! Wait a sec! Just listen to me!" Naruto backed away as Sasuke once again stalked toward the shorter boy. Sasuke's eyes were dark voids, empty of the Sharingan, but they held a wild quality to them—hazed by rage that cut off rational thought.

"Look," Naruto spoke bravely: trying to pound reason into Sasuke when he was like this was like punching a brick wall. "I don't know _why _you're so mad that he wanted me. It's not my fault! And I know the day you woke up in the hospital you looked ready to rip my eyes out if Kakashi hadn't walked in… Sasuke!" Naruto dove from another punch and rolled around behind Sasuke. "Look! You're my best friend! I want to fight you, but not like this!"

Sasuke stopped.

His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were bloodless. He was breathing heavily and his teeth were bared in a curling snarl. But he didn't try to hit Naruto again. He didn't know _what _stopped him, but for some reason his feet refused to take another step.

Itachi had wanted Naruto… _Naruto_… Not Sasuke… And that was _intolerable_.

But attacking Naruto like this—right here; now—in front of Kakashi and Sakura and a group of strangers, would serve no purpose.

'_That's right.' _Sasuke closed his eyes and shelved his anger. He would wait. Wait for another time when there was no audience, no rules and no Kakashi—when he would be free to test his skills against Naruto without anyone to stop them if things got out of hand.

And yes, it was easier to think in terms of hate. Easier to think about what would best further him and his goals; easier to believe that the decision not to attack Naruto was his own… Because he refused to believe that Naruto's words had influenced him.

He refused to believe that Naruto was anything more than a nuisance.

When Sasuke opened his eyes, they were calm.

"So are you finally ready to fight me?" He asked, forcibly pushing throwing all emotion out of his voice.

Naruto was taken aback by how Sasuke had seemed to go from raging mad to utterly insipid in a matter of seconds. "Yeah… 'Course, I'm gonna win!" Quickly overcoming his shock, Naruto sent Sasuke a cocky grin.

In spite of himself, Sasuke felt an answering smirk rise on his lips. He felt lighter now, for whatever reason.

Red bled into his irises and two black tomoe appeared in each eye, spinning around the pupil dizzyingly.

He blinked and his eyes flashed, the Sharingan active and eager.

"First blood?" He asked.

Naruto nodded, a lopsided smile growing on his face. A lot of the conversation had gone unsaid—had passed in silence between them—but somehow they had both come to an understanding. Fundamentally different paths of thinking had met at an unexpected joining. "First blood."

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

"What are they talking about down there?" Tyson leaned forward, trying to listen in on the conversation Sasuke and Naruto were having in low tones.

"I don't know, but hey, look! They're moving again!" Max pointed as Sasuke suddenly jumped backward and Naruto rushed the dark haired boy, clasping his hands in front of himself in an odd gesture. Suddenly the air around Naruto shimmered as first two, then four, then eight, then countless Narutos appeared—all barrelling toward Sasuke.

"Now seriously, I know he's using chakra but how does he DO that? And why's he holding his hands like that?" Hilary asked, eyebrows rising to disappear under dark brown bangs.

"Focused chakra can be split from the body to form clones. They're tangible, but not very durable. They'll disappear if struck with enough force. That symbol Naruto's making with his hands is a hand seal. You use different ones to channel chakra in different ways to make different jutsu." Came Sakura's rushed explanation.

The Narutos surrounded the dark haired ninja and converged. But this time Sasuke did not disappear. Instead he stayed within the pile of clones; and the Bladebreakers were treated to a spectacular display of acrobatics as Sasuke dodged, weaved and danced between the myriad of punches and kicks thrown at him.

"That is so cool…" Tyson intoned. "Gramps never taught me anything like that." They watched as Sasuke flipped onto his hands, twisting and turning as his heels lashed out: destroyed one clone after another—dispersing them into mini explosions of smoke.

The lethal ballet continued, with neither Naruto nor Sasuke gaining a proper hit on the other. But the sheer number of Naruto clones was overwhelming: for every one clone beaten two more would appear; there was no way Sasuke could beat them all with just his hands and feet.

Occasionally though, Sasuke would toss a kunai or shuriken at Naruto. The throws were seemingly random and missed Naruto more often than they connected; this odd occurrence was not missed by the watchful eyes from above.

"Thought you said he had a perfect aim." Rei murmured.

"He does." Strangely enough, it was Kai who answered Rei and, though both Rei and Kakashi looked at Kai inquisitively, they didn't get any further comment from the stoic youth.

"Hey! There's something weird about Sasuke's eyes…" Hilary squinted as she peered at the dark haired boy. It was difficult to get a good view with him snaking so quickly between the innumerable Naruto clones, but Hilary was pretty sure about what she saw. "Are they… red?" Hilary asked dubiously.

"Hmm… yeah." Sakura looked closer then nodded. "It's called the Sharingan; it—"

"Ooh! Look!" Tyson called.

Sasuke had taken a flying leap into the air. Arms flat at his sides, he rose into the air like a bird, rising until he was nearly level with the Bladebreakers. At the peak of his rise, Sasuke raised his arms to his sides like wings and seemed to be momentarily suspended in the air. There was a kunai clutched tightly in one of his hands.

Two Naruto clones then appeared behind Sasuke with an explosive puff of smoke, intending to take advantage of the dark haired boy's vulnerability. But in a flash, Sasuke twisted around, grabbed one clone by the wrist and threw him downward. The momentum pushed Sasuke even higher and he reached up toward a metal crossbar near the ceiling. Catching it with one hand he swung his legs and spun completely around the bar—kunai still tightly clutched in the opposite fist—when he reached the bottom of the rotation Sasuke let go and plunged downward. The second airborne Naruto clone was caught under Sasuke's feet and extinguished in a puff of smoke.

When Sasuke landed on the ground he fell into a low crouch, pausing to absorb the impact before straightening. There was a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Take this!" And Sasuke threw the kunai as hard as he could behind himself—burying it in a tall wooden pillar.

There was a snap, twang and a rapid whistle of moving strings; and suddenly the very ground underneath the Naruto clones shuddered and exploded upward in a shower of dirt and particles.

"Trap. He was setting a trap…" Rei sounded almost impressed.

"What? I don't get it." Tyson just kept staring.

All the clones had been carefully herded into a group by Sasuke's divertive fighting. He had been throwing the kunai after kunai earlier—not in an attempt to hit Naruto, but to lay his trap—each weapon, being attached to a slim, nearly invisible string.

Now those strings had intertwined and wound together to form a makeshift web that rose around all the Naruto clones. The last kunai Sasuke had thrown had set off the trap, bringing the entire net into the air. The net dangled and swayed under the very crossbar that Sasuke had just swung around.

"HEY! WHAT?! WHEN?? HOW—!!" Came he mingled, echoing calls from the Narutos trapped in the net.

Tyson, Max, Hilary and Kenny all watched speechlessly as the massive army of Narutos was suddenly and inexplicably defanged—bundled up and captured, swinging in the air like so many clothes in a bag. Sakura's hands were clasped under her chin and she watched avidly, mentally taking notes on the techniques used. Standing behind them, Rei looked torn between remaining aloof and joining his team at the edge of the platform. And Kakashi had half his attention on his students and the other on Kai, who was watching Sasuke intently.

"Now… to end this!" Sasuke's eyes closed and his hands slapped together in front of his face, blurring as they moved rapidly in a series of hand seals.

_Mi-Hitsuji-Saru-I-Tora-Uma_

_Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Tiger-Horse_

Sasuke's eyes shot open, and they were blazing red. The Sharingan spun madly. He made a circle with his thumb and index finger and placed it at his mouth.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!_"

_Fire Style: Great Fireball technique!_

A stream of fire surged from his mouth and ate at the air hungrily. Twisting and writhing like a snake, it struck outward and caught on the web of strings. In a matter of mere seconds the entire net of Naruto clones went up in scorching flames.

"WHOA…" The four younger Bladebreakers intoned in unison.

Sakura giggled.

"Told-ya chakra could do some pretty cool stuff." She said.

"_THAT IS SO AWESOME!!" _Tyson nearly squealed in his excitement. Max nodded in wordless agreement.

"Dizzy, are you getting all this?" Kenny asked breathlessly, not even bothering to look down at his laptop as he spoke.

"Every firework." The digital bitbeast promised.

Hilary cocked her head as she stared at the giant flaming mass. "Fire…" She murmured wondrously, speaking quietly enough so no one else heard. She thought briefly about twisting around to look at Kai, but didn't want to take her eyes off the scene in front of her.

Rei meanwhile, wasn't even bothering to hide his awe anymore as he gaped openly at the blazing ball of fire Sasuke had effortlessly produced.

As for Kai… He was standing there, arms—previous tightly folded, now slackened—petrified half-way in the motion of being unfolded. Over the teen's face played the red glow of Sasuke's fire and his eyes were wide, betraying his astonishment. It was the first time Kakashi had seen such honest emotion displayed so clearly on the youth's face. The expression was still muted—practically bland in comparisons to the exclamations of wonder that were coming from his team mates—nonetheless, it was a change from the stoic mask he usually wore. And Kakashi had noticed Kai's eyes fixated on Sasuke's hands as they'd flown through the symbols of the jutsu—even though they'd passed too quickly for a laymen's eye to pick out.

Kakashi wondered what Kai was thinking.

As the net of wires caught on fire, the flare began climbing up the strand leading to the ceiling. Sasuke eyed the rising flames and, recalling Kakashi's warning about the fragile wooden ceiling, retrieved a stray shuriken from the ground and threw it almost lazily, cutting the string and dropping the net to the ground. It fell with a muffled _thwumph_ as sparks of fire and clouds of dust blossomed outward. But already the fire was dying and the Naruto clones had long since vanished.

"Oie! Teme! You forgot about—"

Sasuke spun on his foot and grabbed Naruto—the real Naruto—by the collar before pushing him back against a pillar. He then levelled a kunai to the blond's neck and slowly let go of his orange jumper.

"So _dobe_." Sasuke put extra emphasis on the word mockingly. "Do you forfeit?"

Unexpectedly, Naruto's face broke out into a sly grin that made warnings signals go off in Sasuke's head.

Naruto slapped his hands together: the index and middle fingers pointed to the sky while the other fingers were folded—right on top of the left.

_Reverse Hitsuji_

_Reverse Ram_

"_Orioke no Jutsu!" _

_Sexy Technique!_

And Naruto's body disappeared in a puff of smoke and turned into…

"Oh my…" Kakashi's eyes bulged.

Max reddened.

Tyson's jaw dropped.

Kenny's glasses fell down his nose.

Rei swallowed.

Kai's lips curled distastefully, his eyes averting to the side.

"NA-RU-TOOO!!!!" Sakura bellowed.

"What the heck is that?!" Hilary cringed.

A vein on Sasuke's temple throbbed and his right eye twitched erratically.

"_Oh Sasuke-kun," _Naruto's voice, a high falsetto, slurred Sasuke's name in an attempt to be coy. It didn't help that Naruto's body had currently turned into that of a rather curvy, naked woman—covered by only the barest wisps of smoke—and was now leaning over suggestively. "_You're not going to hurt me are you?_"

"ARGH!" Sasuke violently recoiled from Naruto and squeezed his eyes shut, covering them with his hands for extra security. "WHAT THE HELL, NARUTO!?"

"_Aww_…" Naruto pouted, putting a finger to his—her—bottom lip, shoulders hunching upward. Eyelashes fluttered. "_All's fair in love and war, isn't it, Sasuke-kun?"_

Sasuke spluttered incoherently for a moment, then turned away, still hiding his eyes. "Augh… I'm going to be scarred for life…" He rubbed at his closed eyelids with his fists, as though that would disperse the disturbing image stuck in his head.

"NARUTO YOU CHANGE BACK THIS INSTANT AND STOP THIS DEGRADING… THIS PERVERTED… AH! **NA**-**RU**-**TO**!" Sakura, unable to properly express her fury, settled for bellowing Naruto's name again. In return, Naruto sent her a cheeky grin, blowing a kiss and winking in a way that made Sakura turn an impressive shade of red.

"FIRST BLOOD!"

Everyone quietened as this call came from Kakashi. No one had seen a hit connect and they were all confused about who had drawn the first blood.

With a hasty hand seal and a puff of smoke, Kakashi was once again standing on the ground near Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura immediately moved to the ladder and began to descend toward the ground. Following the kunoichi's lead, the Bladebreakers also moved toward the ladder and descended toward the ground as well.

"Hit, Sasuke, on neck." Kakashi motioned to a very thin line on the female Naruto's neck. Sasuke had apparently clipped the skin when he'd leapt backward.

"_Ah…_" Naruto placed a dainty hand to the cut, smiling sheepishly. "_I didn't notice that._"

Sasuke's mouth curved a tiny bit and he looked like he was about to say something when Kakashi raised his hand again.

"Hit, Naruto, on left arm."

Sasuke jerked, frowning. And indeed, when he looked down there was a small nick near his elbow.

"Eh?" Sasuke clucked his tongue, raising an eyebrow. "He's not even holding a weapon." Sasuke refrained though, from looking back at Naruto to confirm this.

Naruto just raised one hand. "_My nails_." Came the rueful response.

Sasuke made a choking sound in the back of his throat.

"I think we can call this one a tie, eh _Sasuke-kun?_" Kakashi asked, his eye crinkling in amusement. Sasuke flushed and pursed his lips together, refusing to say anything.

"Uhmm… Naruto?" Max, running toward them, was first to arrive near Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. He looked back nervously at the raging Sakura and the indignant Hilary who were quickly nearing; the storming thunderheads over their head were almost visible. "I think you should change back now."

The feral grin that grew rapidly on Sasuke's face did nothing to alleviate Naruto's suddenly leaden stomach.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Nine-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

Yay! That came out better than I'd imagined it would o_O (though I honestly have no idea how Sasuke made that net-thing, myself ^.^')… Also that brief Sasuke-Naruto heart to heart (*thunks forehead on desk*)… it nearly killed me X_X I wrote it once, scrapped it, and rewrote the entire thing. Let's just say you should all be very, _very _happy I didn't use the first one. (*cringes*)

**BUT! **Now everyone should pretty much know exactly _when _in the Naruto-verse this story takes place: Sasuke and Itachi had their little reunion, Tsunade is the Hokage, Sasuke woke up in the hospital but did NOT fight Naruto. Kakashi came in before he could.

And remember, this takes place after season **three **of Beyblade.

Right, so no reviewer responses, sadly, but I read all your comments and lemme say that you guys are all awesome and very understanding! Thanks!

* * *

**Thankies** **to everyone who took the time to review!**

**Adio!**

**

* * *

  
**

Oh yes! And, if you like intense, in-depth, psychologically traumatizing stories, please check out my Naruto fic: '_Innocence'_ which is about Sasuke and Itachi. Yay for shameless self-promotion! ^.^


	10. HOUSEGUESTS: That's a Lotta Duffle Bags!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **Over 300 reviews?!...Whoa… thanks everyone! I know I've been skimping on responding to reviews but I'll be getting back into the normal routine of writing responses now ^.^

**AND! **Special, special thanks to **Darakna** for her fanart! It's a pretty awesome manipulation of art; it kinda boggled my mind a little XDD Everyone can check it out at: http: / / DemonDarakna. deviantart. com/art/ Sharingan-Eyes-121012182 (without the spaces).

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I**_ …(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I**_**…(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

_**J. Gregory Keyes**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Ten-.,'**_

_HOUSEGUESTS: That's a Lotta Duffel Bags!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

The Bladebreakers and Team 7 were walking down a winding, dirt path; leaving behind the sounds of rushing water and seagull calls as they traveled away from the harbour docks. It was late afternoon, but the sun had not yet begun to set and they had a few hours to kill before heading back to Tyson's dojo. The main topic of conversation between them was, naturally, beyblades and chakra.

"That was so awesome! Why can't I learn how to use this chakra thingy like you guys?" Tyson, asked. He was so hyped up by the fight that his feet barely touched the ground as he bounced down the trail next to Naruto.

"Uhhh…" The blond ninja groaned unintelligibly. He was now back to being a boy—and fully clothed—but was also nursing two new bumps on his head, courtesy of Sakura and Hilary. He was bent over as he walked, rubbing the tender spots gingerly. "Why do I keep getting beaten up today?"

"Well, if you stopped doing such stupid things you wouldn't keep getting smacked." Hilary stated matter-of-factly.

Sakura nodded her consent. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Naruto sent Sakura a wide-eyed, pitiful look. But Sakura shook her head.

"Don't even try that on me. There's absolutely no excuse for you to use that disgusting jutsu. In fact, if I ever meet the person who taught you that technique I'll smack HIM too!"

Naruto suddenly got a funny look on his face and had to swallow a bubble of laughter.

"What?" Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"N-nothing." Naruto bit on his lip and looked away, feigning interest in the passing scenery. Silently, he wondered what Sakura would say if she knew _he'd_ created the technique himself. Ruefully remembering his aching head, the blond teen decided he didn't really want to find out.

"So," Max cut into the conversation. He was walking next to Rei and Kenny in the middle of the group—behind Tyson, Naruto, Sakura and Hilary—and he spoke to everyone at large. "Where are we off to now?"

"Well… We all gotta get back to my place for dinner…" Tyson trailed off.

"But we'll be staying there overnight too. Then we have to leave for the airport first thing in the morning, right?" Max pointed out. When he got a nod from Tyson he continued speaking. "Then why don't we stop by mine, Kenny's, Rei's, Hilary's and Kai's places first to pick up our bags? That way we won't have to run around in the morning."

"That's a good idea!" Hilary piped up. "Then Tyson won't be able to sleep in and make everyone late!"

"Hey!" Tyson cried indignantly.

"Oh, that's right," Hilary sent Tyson a wry look. "You're perfectly capable of making us late no matter what time we have to leave."

Tyson glared at Hilary and muttered something under his breath.

Hilary's face changed into a completely fake, innocent look and she leaned toward Tyson. "What was that, Tyson?" She asked, voice deceptively sweet.

Tyson was very quick to respond with a squeaky "Nothing, nothing!" He threw up his hands and backing away from the girl. Smattered chuckling met the duo's antics.

"So, whose house is closest?" Sakura asked.

"Mine!" Kenny called, and he rushed ahead.

"So…" Tyson leaned in toward Naruto conspiratorially, "You can, like, turn into a hot, naked woman _whenever _you want?"

Naruto stared at the navy-haired boy, looking stuck between laughing and running away in fear.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

The trip to Kenny's house went quickly. Team 7 and the Bladebreakers waited patiently on the first floor with Kenny's doting mother as he ran upstairs to haphazardly toss two week's worth of belongings into a dark green duffle bag. When he returned a couple of minutes later, he was loaded down with both the bulging travel bag and a heavy laptop bag that housed Dizzy and looked ready to topple over under their combined weight.

Kakashi amicably offered to carry the large duffle and Kenny quickly handed it off to the tall ninja with a grateful smile. In spite of its size, Kakashi slung the bag over his shoulder swiftly, bearing the weight with ease.

A short walk down the street brought them to Hilary's house. Here, the stop was considerably longer. Hilary claimed that she was nowhere near finished packing and insisted that Sakura come and help her choose her clothes. Hilary's exuberance proved catchy and soon both girls were giggling and chattering excitedly over a hundred and one different topics as they headed up to Hilary's room.

Giving the two girls a wide berth, the males of both teams hung around in the kitchen with Hilary's father.

"So…" Mr. Tatibana began. He wasn't a particularly large man; but the way he leaned over the tabletop—coupled with his thick brows and glinting eyes—made him more intimidating that his stature would suggest.

"Yeah, Mr. T?" Tyson grinned charmingly; though after a long pause of awkward silence, during which Mr. Tatibana didn't so much as blink, Tyson's smile eventually faltered and slid off his face.

"Hilary tells me she's going away with you boys." Mr. Tatibana's eyes dragged over to Rei—whose gaze turned downward as he gave a small, respectful nod of the head—then to Kai, whose stony expression wasn't actually all that different from Mr. Tatibana's. His eyes stayed on Kai. "Again."

"Well, sir," Max interjected, trying his best to sound cheerful. It was impossible to ignore how Mr. Tatibana seemed to be trying to peel Kai apart with his eyes; Kai bore it well though, showing not even a hint of ill-ease. Max was glad that Hilary's father hadn't looked at _him_ that way. "It's not just us this time. They're all coming with us too!" He gestured to Team 7.

But somehow this seemed to be the wrong thing to do as Hilary's father's mood just seemed to darken all that more. He looked at Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi with a heavy frown. "All of you?"

"Well, Sakura—the young lady your daughter just escorted to her room—will be coming as well." Kakashi said light-heartedly. And these words seemed to mollify Mr. Tatibana somewhat.

"Ah, I see… well, at least she'll have someone other than—" Mr. Tatibana's words trailed off, but he didn't seem at all apologetic of the insinuation in his words. "So tell me, who are you people and how do you know my daughter and her team?"

Naruto smiled. "We're—"

"—Accompanying team." Kai grunted.

"Oh really?" Mr. Tatibana's eyes immediately went to Kai, as did everyone else's.

"From rural Japan." Was Kai's curt explanation.

"Eh, we're no—" Naruto's denial was quickly cut off as Rei sharply shushed him. Mr. Tatibana didn't seem to notice the interruption.

"I see," He was still eyeing Kai oddly, as though surprised the teen could speak. "So all of you play with those… beyblade toys."

What followed after was a long, awkward pause. Tyson looked affronted at being told Dragoon was a 'toy', but wisely, he said nothing. Sasuke was sported a vaguely insulted expression, annoyed that he was being grouped with the Bladebreakers; and Kakashi just seemed amused.

Needless to say, when Hilary and Sakura finally returned to the group nearly one hour later everyone was quite ready to leave.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

Next on the list was Max's house.

Max took great pleasure in giving Team 7 a quick tour around the Beyparts store his father owned. In particular, the ninja seemed intrigued by the many variations of spiral metal attack rings on display behind a glass case. When Naruto asked about them, Max happily launched into an explanation of how specifically cut blades were better for certain styles of beyblading.

Using his own team as an example, Max pointed out four different types of blades displayed proudly in a tall cabinet.

"See this one with the long curved blades?" Max pointed to one of the larger attack rings: streamlined with vicious looking blades that tapered off at the ends.

"Yeah?" Naruto leaned in toward the glass cover, nearly pressing his nose against it. Max had already warned them against touching the panes. "Looks sorta like a shuriken."

"That's the kind Kai uses: good for slashing and swift, powerful attacks." Max explained. "Then there's this one, the one I use." Max showed Naruto a hefty blade with serrated edges. "It's good for wearing the opponent down over a long period of time."

"You know, we have something similar to that in our varying types of shuriken. It's a very effective method; I didn't know they used it for other purposes." Sakura said thoughtfully.

It was inevitable that Sakura's comment would make everyone think about _what _the ninjas used serrated blades for and exactly how different that was from Beyblading. Max looked back at the pink-haired girl uneasily for a moment before forcibly brushing the thought off.

"…I… see…" the blond said. "Right… well… this one here," this time Max showed the ninja a lightweight blade with smaller, thinner blades that appeared almost needle-like. "Is the one Rei uses. He likes to keep his blade fast and light, this blade works well for more stabbing-style attacks. And finally, Tyson's," Max gestured to a blade that looked like a cross between Kai's and Rei's: with long, thin, curved blades. "Is more balanced between attack and speed."

"Hey, Max! Thought I heard your voice." Max's father, Alex Tate, immerged from a backroom of the shop, wiping his hands on a rag. When he spotted Team 7 one of his dark eyebrows shot up to his receding hairline. "Who're your new friends?" He asked, looking down at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke before raising his eyes to look at Kakashi. The silver haired man stood level with Mr. Tate, though he was somewhat leaner than Max's stocky father.

"Ah-ha…" Max laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "They're uh…" Somehow he didn't think his father would take too kindly to finding out there were _ninja _travelling with his son.

"We're from out of town. The Bladebreakers her have been kind enough to allow us to accompany them to Russia." Kakashi said smoothly.

"Uh-_huh_…" Mr. Tate looked unconvinced. "So you're Beybladers?"

"…Something like that." Sakura answered.

"Then why was my son explaining to you what an attack ring was?" Alex scratched at the dark stubble on his chin and his lip quirked smugly at Team 7, having neatly caught them in the lie. Sakura blushed.

"Like I said, we're from out of town, we have a different system." Kakashi didn't even pause before answering, his visible eye perfectly calm.

"Hmmm… What part of the country are you from? I've never seen clothes like yours before." He eyed Kakashi's heavily padded vest, Naruto's bright orange jumpsuit, Sakura's split dress and Sasuke's high collar.

"Aww, Dad, stop interrogating my friends! They're cool; and we just came to get my bag!" By now, Max had dashed into the back of the shop, grabbed his duffel, and ran back. "We're gonna spend the night at Tyson's, then we'll be leaving first thing in the morning."

At the mention of his son's departure, Mr. Tate's attention immediately shifted to Max. "Alright then, you have your money, passport and itinerary, right?" He asked, voice filled with fatherly anxiety.

"Yes Dad," Max rolled his eyes, but smiled consolingly at his father's concern.

"Then c'm'ere" Alex beckoned Max toward him and gave his son a short hug. "Say hi to your mother for me, will you?"

"No problem," Max grinned, then ducked as his father reached out to ruffle his hair. "Hey!" Max laughed.

Unnoticed by both Max and his father, there were two pairs of eyes that watched the exchange between father and son with more attentiveness than the rest of the group.

Naruto looked wistful whereas Sasuke's face was a mask of marble as they looked on.

"Hey, Max?" Naruto asked. The little bell over the door jingled as they left the store. Max cocked his head and Naruto continued "What did your Dad mean about saying hi to your Mom?"

"Huh?" Max looked confused for a second before understanding came to him. "Ohh… my mom and dad are divorced and she's the manager of the American Beyblade team, so we'll probably see her in Russia." The blond teen looked happy at this possibility.

"Divorced?" Naruto looked quizzical.

"Yeah, you know, separated? They don't live together." Max elaborated.

Naruto still looked confused. "Huh…" He cocked his head to the side. Divorce was a foreign concept in Konoha; Naruto knew what it was, but the instances in which a married couple split from each other was so rare in his village that it was almost unheard of.

"It's normal for them," Sakura whispered to Naruto. "In their culture families get divorced all the time."

Naruto's face scrunched pensively. He still didn't get it. If two people loved each other, and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, why would they separate? It made not sense.

"Weird…" He mumbled.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

When the two teams arrived at Rei's house they found themselves looking up at a relatively humble, two story restaurant.

"You live at a restaurant?" Naruto looked at the place appreciatively. "Do your folks run the place? Must be great to get all the food you want for free!" The blind ninja was making a clear attempt to have friendly conversation with Rei. Throughout the entire day Rei had been uptight and aloof around the ninja. Naruto, although somewhat offended by the behaviour, wanted to work past it. This seemed as safe a topic as any.

But apparently it wasn't as safe as he'd thought because Rei's face suddenly went blank and he hesitated before answering. "Ah… no. I work here. And… listen, the people I stay with… they're Chinese…and they may recognize the symbols on your forehead protectors… So if it's possible, I think you should…"

"We will wait here, if it is more prudent." Kakashi interceded appeasingly.

Rei looked relieved. "That's good… thank you. I will only be a moment." The 'thank you' was awkward and rushed and Rei gave a miniscule nod of his head before jogging toward the restaurant.

"Now seriously, what is UP with this? Why is he always acting funny around us? And he as good as said the people he's staying with won't like us either. Do all Chinese hate Ninja or what?" Naruto grumbled, kicking a stray pebble on the ground.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "That's prejudiced!"

"So?" Naruto asked brazenly. "They seem to be perfectly happy being prejudiced against us!"

"Rei… Rei's not prejudiced…" Max's defence wavered at first, but grew stronger as he spoke. "I'm sure there's another reason for why he's acting so odd around you guys."

"Yeah, Rei's not like that!" Tyson said confidently, sticking his hands on his waist and nodding sagely.

"You seem to know what's going on, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura looked to her teacher questioningly.

Kakashi just cocked his head and regarded the group of teens with his visible eye. "Oh?" It didn't appear as though he would be any more forthcoming.

Silence fell as the group waited for Rei. Hilary shifted the strap of her stuffed duffel bag, which was digging uncomfortably into her shoulder. The strap slipped and she nearly dropped the bag. She huffed and made to switch it to her opposite shoulder, all the while grumbling under her breath about how stupid of an idea it was to lug fifty pound bags across the city. Seeing Hilary's difficulty, Tyson opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was about to move toward her when a hand came out of nowhere and swept the bag out of Hilary's hands with graceful ease.

Hilary looked up with a gasp at Kai, who was standing over her with her bright cherry duffel thrown neatly over one shoulder. The heat rose to her cheeks as she realized, embarrassedly, how pathetic she must have looked struggling with her bag, especially to make _Kai _of all people, take it from her.

But Kai didn't even look at her, and the duffle—stuffed to exploding—seemed to weigh nothing as it sat comfortably on his shoulder.

Still, Hilary fidgeted self-consciously and Sakura elbowed her with a knowing grin. Hilary looked at Sakura with something between hope and embarrassment as she blushed, mouth trying to form words that wouldn't come out.

Behind them, Tyson looked inordinately displeased as he sucked in a cheek and turned away.

Max caught Naruto's eye and they shared a look.

Luckily for everyone, it was at that very moment that Rei emerged from the house, his bag slung over his shoulder.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

The trip to Kai's place involved a bus ride and was significantly longer than any of the others, taking them into the heart of the city. It gave Team 7 a chance to gaze upon the busy streets and towering skyscrapers of Tokyo in greater detail.

As they traveled, it slowly became difficult for the Bladebreakers to not notice how people just seemed to veer away from the ninja. It was like there was an invisible line drawn around Team 7 which even crowds of people would not penetrate. Even while they were sitting on the bus, there was always a space of at least two seats between Team 7 and everyone else, save the Bladebreakers. For the most part though, this observation was written off by the beybladers as a side-effect of the ninja's odd graveness and strange attire.

The ninjas were unnaturally creepy, Tyson had reasoned. He remembered well how he had been on edge and wary around them when they'd first appeared too. So it wasn't really surprising that everyone else avoided them too

On their part, Team 7 also began to notice some odd behaviours that seemed to afflict people as the Bladebreakers' would walk by. For one thing, girls would break down into fits of giggles whenever Rei just looked in their general vicinity. Rei took this behaviour in stride: his smile amicable as he joked lightly with various girls asking for his autograph.

Kai's effect though was both greater and more violent. Between the odd 'squeal and run away' there were actually some girls who would try to reach out and touch Kai's scarf as he swept by. This behaviour was not stopped by the ninja, since it didn't appear to be particularly harmful; but it did cause some degree of mortification for Sakura and Sasuke as Naruto made amused comments about the similarities between these girls and Sasuke's fanclub.

"I am NOT that bad!" Sakura gasped, staring as yet another girl squeaked and ran away from Kai. All she'd done was brush his arm… "This is extreme! I don't act like that, do I Sasuke-kun?" She looked at Sasuke imploringly.

Sasuke's forehead hit his palm, which he dragged down over his face.

"Do I?" She repeated, her expression slowly turning aghast.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, seeking patience. "…You're annoying." He said at length.

"You always say that to me!" She dismissed the words. "But am I THAT annoying?"

Sasuke refused to answer.

Aside from Rei and Kai, who received attention mostly from the girls, Tyson and Max got more diverse responses. Every now and again, a random person walking down the street would yell an informal greeting to Max, as though they knew him personally. And he would return in kind. Sometimes he'd even stop to have brief conversations with these strangers.

Tyson, as he walked, got the occasional loud whoop and pumped fist, which he responded to with a large grin and a whoop of his own.

In all, the Bladebreakers seemed very accustomed to walking in the limelight. They never acted out of turn, or reacted in negative ways, which made Team 7 wonder if they received this sort of attention everywhere they went.

When questioned on their ease at handling the fans, Tyson responded for the group.

"This is nothing," He grinned. "You should see them during a tournament. We can't even walk outside during those times; they'd swarm us. Even when we're in cars, they crowd right around them and try to peer in through the windows. Kai nearly got strangled once when a couple of girls grabbed his scarf and wouldn't let go." Tyson bore Kai's resulting death glare happily as everyone burst out laughing. Even Sasuke looked smug, as though some unknown speculation of his had just been confirmed.

Once they descended from the bus and began walking between the tall skyscrapers, Team 7's attention was taken by the scenery and the conversation shifted.

Hilary and Kenny were only too happy to explain various aspects of history and architecture to the amazed genin. Tyson and Max meanwhile, had a small, funny anecdote for almost every recreational site they passed. Currently they were telling a story of how Hilary had once shoved Tyson so hard he'd toppled over into a fountain. As it had turned out, Tyson had reached out at the last second and grabbed Hilary's hand, pulling her into the fountain right after him.

"This place is so BIG. Konoha doesn't have any houses anywhere near this tall!" Sakura strained her neck as she gazed upward at a particularly steep, slim skyscraper. "And they're so… oddly constructed too." She commented, referring to the mirror-like glass that covered every surface of the building.

"I like all the lights." Naruto added, pointing, unsurprisingly, at a large neon sign depicting a bowl of ramen. "I bet it's nowhere near as good as Ichiraku's, but we so gotta try it sometime! Do all the lights come on at night?" He asked, looking at the many dozens of neon signs that were still unlit in the late afternoon.

"Yup! You should see it! The whole place is lit up like a giant Christmas tree!" Max grinned. But getting some confused looks from the genin he shook his head and quickly rephrased. "Sorry, American reference. I mean… like New Year's." Comprehension came to the ninja and Max chuckled.

"So Kai…" Sakura began, speaking cautiously. "Where do you live?"

Kai, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped. "Here." Came his simple answer.

"Whoa…" Naruto looked up at the tall building. It was sixty floors high, at least, made of continuous panels of opaque, black glass and held up by a set of black marble pillars. "You live _here?_"

Kai didn't answer, and instead moved to head into the building. Max, taking pity on the gobsmacked Naruto, took a moment to explain how Kai didn't live in the _whole _building, but rather, in one of the apartments.

As the two teams got closer to the swinging entrance doors, two large, burly men in dark long coats exited the building. The two teams paid them no heed, but as they moved to pass between them one of the men bumped roughly into Kai's shoulder, making the teen stagger backward.

Kai turned his head, a harsh comment on his lips, but for reasons unknown the words died before any breath could be put behind them.

"Hey!" Tyson shouted at the retreating backs of the two men. "You can't just bash into us and not say—"

Kai tsked. "Ay, Tyson. Let it go."

"But—" Tyson looked surprised. Kai just shook his head and turned to continue into the building. Tyson sighed, but acquiesced, following after his captain. Curious looks were sent at the two men, then Tyson and Kai, but no one else said a word as they followed the two teens.

Kakashi did notice though, how Kai had frozen as he looked back at the two men. And how his eyes had widened every so slightly.

Sasuke though, had a considerably darker look. He had seen—under the flapping of the man's trench-coat as he shouldered Kai—the unmistakable glint of a polished weapon. Sasuke pondered the implications, and he had his suspicions, but he said nothing. What he did notice though, was the pensive look on Rei's face. He eyed the elder teen suspiciously and Rei, as though sensing the gaze, looked up and met Sasuke's eyes full on.

Mutual distrust and wariness passed in that look, along with something else. Sasuke felt his fingers tingle with energy and some agitated instinct was shooting off sparks in the back of his brain. Something about this amber-eyed teen screamed power to Sasuke, but he didn't know what. Rei had no chakra to speak of, so the dark haired ninja chalked it up to the so-called training Kakashi had mentioned Rei had received.

This time, Sasuke made sure to break eye-contact first. Frankly, he just wanted to get this mission finished; the Bladebreakers' skeletons and secrets were worth as much to him as sand in the desert. He didn't care; and as such, let the interest flake off himself as he turned toward the group.

They entered the building and were met with a rush of crisp, air-conditioning mingled with the smell of pine and chemical freshener. The room was modern and neat with carefully arranged fake plants on black shelves protruding from white walls and prim black leather chairs set next to polished glass tables. Everything looked clean and proper and sterilized; to such an extent that even Tyson and Naruto didn't immediately rush to throw themselves on the cushy seats. Instead they all shifted back and forth on their feet, waiting awkwardly as Kai strode up to the female receptionist, who greeted him with a polite—if not somewhat awestruck—hello.

"See," Hilary nudged Sakura, pointing out the receptionist, who was tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear with a self-conscious smile. "He's pretty well known around here. Even among older people."

Sakura grinned. "That, or it's just his looks." The two girls shared a small laugh.

"Yeah, you saw those girls back there." The brunette said in reference to the giggling, flirty girls they'd passed on the streets. Hilary shook her head. "Crazy fangirls…"

This time, Sakura's laugh was markedly more uneasy.

Kai moved past the desk and depressed the elevator call button.

Everyone exchanged short glances: the choice between standing around in this sterile room, sticking out like sore thumbs, and going with Kai was an easy one. Kai raised an eyebrow when everyone crowded behind him, but didn't say anything. This silence was more or less taken as an invitation up to his room.

When the elevator arrived everyone swarmed in at once. It was a tight fit and Hilary was grousing about someone—Tyson—stepping on her foot; but they eventually got the door closed and with a quiet hum the elevator started moving up.

"So… erm… this place, it looks more like a hotel than anything else." Sakura didn't actually ask a question, but her statement implied it. The place did not look like an apartment building. Sakura raised her eyebrows and looked around at the group as though waiting for a response.

"It is." Kenny answered peering up at the pink-haired girl through his thick glasses. "Actually, there are a number of suites that are owned by Mr. Dickenson and act as available guest rooms for visiting representatives or teams." Kenny's analysis was clinical and carefully disassociated from Kai.

"But then why does _he_ live here?" Naruto jabbed a thumb at Kai, who had his eyes closed as he leaned against one wall. It was clear that Team 7 would be getting no answers from him, so they turned to the other Bladebreakers.

"Well…" Tyson trailed off. No one seemed to want to answer Naruto's query.

"I suppose," The low drawl came from Sasuke. "That the rest of his family lives in _Russia_."

And the silence which followed that statement was long and thick.

"Yeah, well, Kai's lived here for a whole year! And he does just fine on his own!" Tyson spoke heatedly, defensively. "He doesn't have to go live in Russia—"

"It's fine Tyson." Kai's low voice smoothed over Tyson's. His eyes opened and caught Sasuke's in a long stare. "It's not like he doesn't speak the truth." There was something dismissive about the way Kai said 'he' instead of 'you'. As though Sasuke were a child, unable to understand what the adults were talking about.

Sasuke didn't appreciate that undertone, and had opened his mouth to say something caustic when the elevator door slid open on the fortieth floor. The topic was forgotten as everyone piled out of the elevator, though the thin, firm line of Sasuke's mouth showed that he was still feeling the insult.

Kai lead the way down first one long, narrow corridor—lined on both sides by classic, black-and-white photographs and fake, miniature plants—and then turned and headed down a second corridor, similar to the first. At the end of the third hall, he finally stopped at a single door.

444

An unlucky number if there ever was one and Rei's eyebrows rose as he glanced at Kai cagily. The older youth just smirked fleetingly, scoffing at Rei's superstitious misgivings.

With a flick of his fingers, Kai produced a key card seemingly from thin air. He inserted it swiftly into the lock before pulling it out. There came the sound of a metal bolt shifting and Kai opened the door.

If Kakashi had to describe the room he would have called it cold. Aside from the provided luxuries—bed, table, kitchen, washroom and chairs—there was absolutely nothing added to the room. No personal affects: little trinkets to show a person's habits or quirks. It was utterly impersonal. Spartan. The dishes were all washed and put away, no clothes or other items were to be seen and a quick glance into the washroom showed that even the towels had been neatly folded and stacked on the racks.

In fact, if it hadn't been for the black duffel sitting neatly on the meticulously made bed, and the small clutter of papers on the floor near the door, Kakashi would have said that the room looked positively unlived in.

"Wow, clean much?" Naruto asked dryly, probably thinking of his own home, which was always in varying states of chaos.

Kai didn't say anything. Instead he walked forward and—in a single fluid motion—bent and swept up the papers on the floor.

Intrigued, Kakashi subtly tried to get a closer look at them; but Kai was quick, immediately tucking them out of view. Kakashi did see though, that the papers were actually letters and the one on the top had a strange type of writing on it. It looked more like a series symbols and curves than actual characters and words. Kakashi wondered at that. The symbols looked familiar; they were written in another language that he could not quite place. It wasn't English, but perhaps one of its cousins.

Kai picked up the duffel from his bed—and, in effect, stripping the room of its last personal belonging—and swung it onto his free shoulder. Hilary immediately walked up to him in concern, not wanting him to have to hold both her back and his, but Kai just took her bag and tossed it unceremoniously toward Tyson who—not expecting a large, heavy duffle to be thrown at his face—squawked and nearly toppled over as the thing smacked into him. Fortunately, he managed not to drop the bag.

Hilary, standing between both Kai and Tyson, had her arms half-way outstretched toward Kai. For a moment she hesitated, taken by surprise. Then she turned to Tyson and beckoned to him with a sigh.

"What?" Tyson asked. He'd shouldered the pack and was holding the strap almost protectively.

Hilary looked at him oddly. "You don't have to hold it." She said. "You can give it back to me."

"N-no! That's okay!" Tyson insisted, to Hilary's surprise. "No really, I don't mind!" Tyson held the bag closer and turned to leave the room.

"Huh…" Hilary cocked her head at Tyson retreating back. "Okay then…" Sending a brief shrug at Sakura, she turned and followed after Tyson.

Sakura shared a look with Naruto. "You don't think…" She started.

Naruto's lips crooked upward. "Uh huh."

"Definitely." Max put in, sharing a knowing nod with Naruto.

"Oh no…" Sakura sighed, closing her green eyes as she massaged the hollow of one eye.

Having finished his business in the room, Kai led the way back to the elevator which they rode back down to the main floor. Exiting the building, Tyson took over the lead and they headed back to his dojo.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Ten-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

**  
**

Hee hee, so, how was it? Isn't it funny how _Max _is the one who seems to be clicking most easily with everyone ^.^ ? And also, to tell you the truth, I don't actually know Mr. Tate's real first name :P I use 'Alex' because that's what I used for my other Beyblade fic; so I'm keeping it consistent XD

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, for this chapter _and_ the last! I know I didn't get around to responding to reviews, but I will certainly respond to all reviews for this chapter! **Miharu-desu, StunningGhost, beckylovesgigs, wah-keetcha, winddragonpowers, TheFallenangel927, Kavbj, Kuma the wolf alchemist, alanacrystal, , stephvamp25, beybladeingninjaprincess, sasukoi, Darakna, FlamingIce94, Yuliya, terracannon876, dimonyo-anghel, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, meyoumeyou justmealrigt!, Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, lady KCassandra, fawks136, CleverPhoenix, Feonix in Ashes, WolfSong, StarShinobi, scarletmirror, Dani Hiwatari, Lhune, Nameless Little Girl, BloodRedViolet, Haro kzoids, ShadowHeart251, 99DenmonChick99, Taijiya Mizu, Steal My Soul 7767, bladz-liska, dragonlilly1993, Amitha, beautyofthedarkmoon, Sciura, blackblood1616, CleverPhoenix, Elves of the Moon, Painted Ys, ShiningHeart of ThunderClan, Evanescente, mimic shalle, Crulean Gemini, Yame, Ugawa, SPB Wolf, Yurrei, Jadej.j, Australia, Tio Hiwatari, ShadowBlade7330, dekoolsky, StrangeoneXD **aaand **Aacura!**

You're all awesome!

**Adio!**


	11. SURPRISES ABOUND: Sneaky Encounter!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **Ok… ok… um… yeah, I don't have any smart, witty comments on hand at the moment ^.^'

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I**_ …(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I**_**…(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

_**J. Gregory Keyes**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Eleven-.,'**_

_SURPRIES ABOUND: Sneaky Encounter!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

The Bladebreakers and Team 7 sat around a table as they ate a simple, home-cooked dinner of fried fish and rice with Tyson's Grandfather. The table was set near the wooden floor and they kneeled on thin cushions as they ate with short chopsticks.

Studying her own stylized red and green chopsticks, Sakura commented idly about how similar the style was to the ninja's, except that the chopsticks were often a little longer. Rei, caught in a particularly good mood inspired by good food and a comfortable setting, found himself intrigued by this fact. Turning to the pick haired girl, he added that Chinese chopsticks were often longer as well. What followed after that was a surprisingly light-hearted conversation about the differences between Japanese, Chinese and ninja cuisine.

They had settled easily into Tyson's welcoming home. A small argument had blossomed when Hilary and Sakura realized they were to share the dojo and adjoining washroom with the boys, but it was smoothed over when they realized how large the dojo was—the decision to wake up an hour earlier than everyone else to take their respective showers also helped.

There had been a quick introduction when they met—again—Mr. Granger. The elder man had instantly ushered them all toward the dining table, telling them to sit, gossip and enjoy themselves. As Tyson had made to join the group though, Mr. Granger had reached out and snagged his grandson by the ear, yanking him into the kitchen and ordering the unfortunate boy to help make dinner.

The Bladebreakers, all of whom knew how abysmal Tyson was in the kitchen, had varying degrees of amusement on their faces—from Kai's smirk, to Hilary's evil grin—as they listened to Tyson whine and complain in the other room.

Eventually though, the food had been made—only lightly burnt—and everyone had dug in.

"_Sooo_…" Mr. Granger squinted one eye and opened the other wide as he stared Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke down. "You folks are ninja from the hidden village of Konohagakure, eh?"

The sound of plastic clattering against porcelain as Sakura dropped her chopsticks was the only sound in the room as everyone sat back in shocked silence.

No one had told Mr. Granger that the visiting team were ninja. In fact they'd given him the same story Kai had given Mr. Tatibana—that they were an accompanying Beyblade team from rural Japan. There was no reason for Tyson's Grandfather to know who they were.

"Wha—Wha—They're n-not—" Tyson spluttered at exactly the same time as Naruto stuttered "Wha—Wha—We're n-not—"

Mr. Granger burst out laughing. "I knew it! I'd recognize those hitai-ate anywhere! So! How's my old man Sarutobi doing?!"

Naruto and Sakura's mouths hung open, Sasuke looked taken aback and even Kakashi's surprise was evident.

Tyson meanwhile had to pick his jaw off the ground.

"Oh come on," Mr. Granger smiled indulgently. "I was a young lad once, did my share of travelling. Came across the village by a fluke—stumbled, fell and rolled down a hill to stop right at the doorstep, in fact." The elder man chuckled.

"You—you found Konoha? By _accident_?" Sakura twitched. The elder Granger just grinned down at her.

"Never met a man more honest and devoted than Sarutobi." Mr. Granger continued, smiling. "I've been meaning to drop by and visit the old geezer, but this guy—" He reached out and ruffled Tyson's hair, much to the teen's chagrin. "—has been keeping me busy and on my toes all these years. Not to mention giving me quite a few more grey hairs than my age deserves." Mr. Granger laughed again and a few chuckles joined him as everyone looked up at the elder man's completely silver hair. "So tell me, the last time I saw Sarutobi he was busy corrupting a group of young-un's; surely someone's kicked him out of his teacher position by now!"

This last comment brought a sobering silence to the ninja. Sakura looked away sadly while Naruto closed his eyes. Sasuke moved his utensils down to his bowl then stilled, staring fixedly at his rice. Only Kakashi met Mr. Granger's oblivious, expectant eyes full on.

"Mr. Granger… Sandaime Hokage-sama passed away last month." The jonin said gravely.

The grin on Mr. Granger's face faded as his expression went through a range of confusion, surprise and shock before settling on sadness. Raising a napkin to his mouth and holding it there for many moments, the elder man's eyes dropped as he composed himself. Finally, he let out a low, rueful chuckle. "So… the old man became Hokage, huh? That was his dream, I'm glad he was able to achieve it… He was an honourable man; may his spirit rise on the wings of warriors of old to join them among the stars in watching over us."

Kakashi inclined his head, Mr. Granger's respectful words showed he held the old Hokage in the highest regard and Kakashi acknowledged the sentiment. "Thank you. His ashes lie under the shade of our strongest _matsu_." _Pine tree_. "Do you wish me to leave incense or flowers in your stead?"

"…No… these bones of mine still have some kick left in them." Mr. Granger rolled his shoulders and smiled gently up at Kakashi. "And I think I owe the old man one last visit, don't you think? Give him a good talking to for up and leaving before I could gain back my title as _Shogi_ master."

Naruto grimaced at Mr. Granger's words, as though he wanted to shout out, or yell… to just get angry and say 'How can he talk about the Hokage like that? Talking about such trivial things like a game of _Shogi_—like he's still alive!' The Hokage was dead… _dead_… and nothing they could do would bring him back… how dare this man—a veritable stranger—act like he knew the Hokage. And then talk about the Hokage in such a disrespectful manner… Naruto seethed: burned under an irrational fire of still-raw grief and helplessness. But he knew better then to let his emotions come out in speech.

As much as Naruto was trying to hide his feelings though, Mr. Granger seemed to sense them and he looked down at the fidgeting, frowning boy. "I see my words have upset you. I am sorry for that." Mr. Granger's face creased into a small, kind smile. "But what you must understand is that this is how I knew Sarutobi, and this is how we got along together. We were old friends, and perhaps we did not know each other for very long but we were good friends. And as a friend I refuse to treat his memory like fragile glass or a bottomless pit. I respect him by treating him in the same way as I did when he was alive."

Naruto looked up at the man with a pained expression on his face. "How can you say that? He's gone… dead… You'll never get to have another conversation with him, or see him or laugh with him… how can you even say that you can treat him the same?!"

Mr. Granger sighed, but had an empathetic look on his face. "Little dude, death is a part of life. It walks in every shadow and lingers in our lives until it finally claims us in the end. But we cannot live in fear of death, nor should we simply move on and ignore it."

"Huh?" Naruto looked confused. Everyone who he'd talked to about the Hokage's death had told him that the pain would fade, that it would get better with time. He didn't understand what Mr. Granger was trying to say, but he wanted to. He looked the elder men full on as he focused his attention, unaware of Sakura and Sasuke doing the same next to him.

"The pain of loosing someone we love… it never goes away." Mr. Granger had a drawn look on his face, as though he himself had experienced this pain. Tyson looked up at his grandfather sadly, and it seemed he understood as well. "But it is this pain which reminds us of how much we loved them. Without it… we would be left empty and I think _that _is the worst thing of all."

"Insensitive to death…" Sasuke murmured. Naruto and Sakura, the only ones close enough to hear him, looked at Sasuke curiously, but he avoided their eyes and didn't say anything more.

Having decided the sombre atmosphere had lasted long enough, Mr. Granger abruptly commanded Kakashi to tell him stories of Sarutobi. The mood lightened considerably as Kakashi relayed few funny tales of the past Hokage and his relationship with the ninja of Konoha.

Slowly, as he started to focus more on the stories rather than his pain, the thickness in Naruto's throat began to dissolve. It was sad—talking about the man that had been like a grandfather to him—but he also found pleasure, and pride, in telling these people, the Bladebreakers and Mr. Granger, about all the Hokage's great deeds and his kind nature.

And, after much poking and prodding by Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke even unwound enough to grudgingly retell a story of his own; in which, when he was nine, Sarutobi had followed him around for an entire day trying to force him to 'have fun'. These last words were spoken in the heaviest sarcasm Sasuke could spit out; and when everyone realized all these misbegotten adventures had ended in disaster—in the form of evil, sharp-edged flying discs and overturned cans of blue paint—they all laughed, imagining a mini Sasuke running around the village with blue paint dripping from his hair as he tried to avoid Frisbees with uncanny homing abilities.

Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary all laughed along with the ninja, encouraging them to keep talking. Even Rei, though he didn't participate in the conversation, wore a soft smile on his lips and Kai's expression wasn't as hard around the edges as it normally was.

And so the evening passed into late night; all too soon it was time to retire.

Taking turns in the washroom, everyone managed to get ready without too much fuss. Tyson laid out the mattresses on the ground and the lights were turned off.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_Sasuke was running. He was always running._

_Like a coward; like a fool. Like a weak, pathetic worm._

Turn around!

_No!_

Turn around! Face him!

_No…no, no, no!_

Weakling! Coward! How dare you run from the man who killed Father and Mother!

_But he couldn't turn around. He couldn't face him. Anyone else, Sasuke would have torn to pieces with his teeth and nails, but not him, never _him_._

_Above him the sky was tainted red, with charred, black splotches running across it: as though someone had taken a lighter to the sky and set the whole thing ablaze. The colour of the sky reflected on the ground below, turning the whole world into a macabre painting of blood and shadow._

_And though Sasuke had seen it before—seen it all before, time and time again—the terror of this place never left him. The panic nipped at his heels, urging him to run faster; the fear cinched his heart, making it throb in his ears louder than his feet on the ground. He couldn't get enough air; it was hazy, gritty and filled with scent of sweetness. _

_Sweet._

_Sweet, sickly sweet; it was the smell of death, of decay. It made him gag, retch, then forcibly swallow the bile in his throat as he refused to stop long enough to be sick. The smell entered his nose, congealed and became tangible in his mouth—slid down and stuck to the back of his throat like slime—and he gasped: a choked plea of helplessness and fear. His hands slapped over his mouth—pinched his nose shut—but they couldn't keep out the smell. He felt that he would never forget that smell. That taste._

_Sasuke ran. He ran as fast as he could._

_But even as he ran, he felt his limbs begin to turn to lead. Without his permission, his arms began to droop; his legs, pushing as hard as they could, were only moving inches at a time—it was like something heavy and viscous was covering him, weighing him down. He couldn't move; his energy was spent. He was tired and suddenly he didn't even have the energy to stand._

Weak!

_There was nothing keeping him standing: he couldn't feel his legs and his arms were like dead weights hanging off him. He sank down to his knees, bowed his head, and stayed there._

"_Run…" The voice, deceptively soothing in his ear, urged him. "Run…"_

_But he couldn't run. He wanted to, desperately, but when he tried to move his legs they didn't respond. This frightened him and he tried harder, but still they refused to listen to him. An unwilling whimper left his lips and he switched his efforts to his arms. They were sluggish, and heavy, but still, they moved; and he placed both his palms on the ground. Putting all his strength into the task, he tried to push himself to his feet. But his arms were too weak, his legs were too tired; they couldn't even support his own weight._

_Something came down hard on Sasuke's head and he yelped as his hair was roughly grabbed and yanked upward. He rose off his knees, but couldn't make his legs move underneath himself; so he hung limply in the air by his hair._

"_Run away, little brother…" The voice, low and soothing, made Sasuke's body seize and he looked up with wide eyes, right into the spinning Sharingan eyes of his older brother. "Pitiful little brother_… _Not even worth the effort to kill."_

Hit him! Punch him! Hurt him! Do something!

_But Sasuke could not. He could only stare widely into those eyes… Eyes, whose attention Sasuke would have once done anything for… Eyes, which had shown him so dispassionately how they had witnessed their own parents' death._

Caused _their parent's death._

_And Sasuke looked down at his hands, tiny hands, the hands of an eight year-old. He was powerless; weak. Couldn't stop him—couldn't do _anything. _He had to get stronger; he had to work harder. He had to-_

"_**So, you desire power, do you, child?" **__The sibilant purr was unexpected and Sasuke jumped backward._

_Realizing he could move, realizing he was free, Sasuke looked around himself in surprise and the edges of suspicion. He saw that Itachi had gone, the sky of blood was gone, the sweet smell of decay had disappeared and everything had been replaced by a long stretch of darkness that extended above and below him in every direction. But directly in front of him there was a figure—long limbed like a spider, and with the translucent pallor of a corpse—it stood out like a beacon._

_But instead of moving toward it, Sasuke shied away. There was no warmth in that figure, only an endless abyss of frost, colder even than the darkness surrounding him._

"_**Oh come, Sasuke-**__kun__**," **__The voice listed, very slightly, over the affectionate suffix attached to Sasuke's name.__** "Don't run from me. You'll hurt my feelings."**_

_And quite suddenly, Sasuke found himself nose to nose with a long, pasty white face, looking into gleaming, golden snake-eyes._

_Sasuke cried out and fell backward. But in a flash something long and thin wrapped around his entire upper arm and pulled him upright. Sasuke looked down and saw that it was a hand—originating from the body—pale and papery, with elongated, spindly fingers that stretched into manicured claws._

_Sasuke had never seen this man's face before. But there was something about his voice and his touch that was familiar. They were not things he could easily forget._

_He knew this man._

"_Orochimaru." Sasuke sneered as best he could while in that vicelike grip. _

_The Sannin's grin stretched across his face, mutilating it even further._

"_**I am pleased." **__Orochimaru purred. __**"You remember me, even though we have never met **__face__** to face."**_

"_Yeah," Sasuke, noticing that Orochimaru's grip had lessened on his arm, took his chances and wrenched his arm backward. Orochimaru squeezed, but only succeeded in catching the skin of Sasuke's arm with his long nails. Sasuke backed up a few steps, nursing his arm and cursing his tiny body. Why the hell did he still look like an eight year-old!_

"_Last time we met you were wearing someone else's face and had your teeth buried in my neck." Sasuke snarled._

_Orochimaru tsked. __**"Sasuke**__-kun__**, you hold such grudges! You need to learn to let things go, they'll give you wrinkles." **__And Orochimaru reached out a long finger towards Sasuke's temple, but Sasuke scuttled even further backward. __**"Oh come now, surely we can at least have a civil conversation here."**_

"_What do you want?" Sasuke said between his teeth._

_Orochimaru cocked his head, a small, infuriating smile on his face. __**"My, you are slow; I'll have to fix that about you. I already told you; I can offer you power, strength, whatever you need."**_

"_I need nothing from you!" Sasuke spat._

"_**Oh, but that's where you're wrong." **__Orochimaru raised a finger, looking mildly down on Sasuke, as a teacher does a student; and began walking. He paced in circles around Sasuke, driving the young boy mad as he had to keep turning on his heel to keep the snake in his view. __**"You need to get stronger so you can kill your brother." **__Sasuke bristled.__** "Konoha will not give you what you need, but I will. It's an easy decision, really."**_

"_Right, of course." Sasuke bit out sarcastically. "And in the fine print: just agree to let you inject yourself into my body and take over. A real deal clincher, that. Don't try and fool me, Orochimaru; I know all about your disgusting schemes."_

_Orochimaru made a low, thoughtful sound in his throat. __**"And what's so bad about that?"**_

"_What?" Sasuke frowned deeply, not in the mood for riddles._

"_**Well, you are someone who inherently distrusts anyone who offers you things freely. You understand trade—benefit—and appreciate it. We will be using each other, yes, but this way you will never have any doubts about my true motivations or manipulations, nor I yours." **__Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke and it was not a pleasant expression._

_Sasuke thought on Orochimaru's words for a moment. No matter if he wanted to admit it or not, they had truth in them. But Sasuke was not willing to admit that just yet. "How would you know anything about how I think?" He challenged cockily. _

"_**Because…" **__Orochimaru's eyes widened, showing golden hues and snake-like pupils in all their glory. His words were a hiss. __**"You are very much like me."**_

_Sasuke took immediate offence. "I am nothing like you! You are evil; you kill for no reason—fight for your own selfish concern… I am nothing like that! I will never agree to study under you! You would probably waste years teaching me useless jutsu until you're ready to do the Soul Transfer or something!"_

"_**I assure you, I will teach you things you could only dream about. I did not lie when I said you had potential; and I, for one, would like to see that potential come to fruition."**__ Orochimaru had stopped in his pacing and was looking at Sasuke intently. After a moment he broke the eye contact and lifted one of his own arms to eye level and regarded it with something like awe. _

"_**It is amazing, what the subconscious can do. Reality is left behind as we transcend into something greater, something higher than anything imaginable." **__Orochimaru stroked his arms—first one, then the other—reverently.__** "And once we achieve true mastery of the unconscious…" **__Orochimaru looked up at Sasuke. __**"We can turn it into reality."**__ Orochimaru brought a hand up and Sasuke tensed, but the Sannin merely waved idly in Sasuke's direction._

_Sasuke felt a change overcome him and quickly looked down at himself. He was bigger, taller. Sasuke recognized the white shorts and blue t-shirt. He was back to being a teenager. _

_Glad for the change—but suspicious because of from whom it had come—Sasuke looked up at Orochimaru warily._

"_**It is time for you to wake up, Sasuke**__-kun__**." **__Orochimaru's voice was sweet and Sasuke resisted the urge to balk. He felt though, a twist on his perception and then the world rotated, as though he had spun in circles and gotten dizzy. He staggered; then the darkness opened up, swallowing him whole, and he fell._

"_**Oh and Sasuke**__-kun__**," **__Came Orochimaru's parting words. __**"Do remember to think about what I said."**_

_Sasuke fell._

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

The only outward signal of Sasuke's abrupt awakening was the way his eyes snapped open and the sudden seizure in the rise of his chest as he stopped breathing.

For an indiscernible amount of time, the ebony haired ninja just laid there, not moving, not breathing, his eyes open but not seeing; until finally, when his eyes—watering from having been kept open so long—blinked closed. And then the air in his lungs escaped in a low, even hiss.

"Dream…" The word shaped Sasuke's lips, but had so little air behind it that it was silent even to his own ears.

Sasuke's eyelids slid closed and he drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly. Controlled.

He didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed.

That bothered him.

He could feel the hard mattress beneath his back, could smell the warm, musky sent of too many bodies in one room, could hear their grating snores. The world was so sharp, so vivid—already parts of the dream he'd had were beginning to feel hazy and distant. Specifics of the early portions were distant, and trying to remember them was like grasping at smoke. But the memory of Orochimaru was still fresh, and stood at the forefront of his mind. It was an odd contrast: the fading vision of Itachi's blood speckled face opposed to the white ghastliness of Orochimaru's features.

Sasuke rolled onto his side, propping himself up on an elbow. Lost in thought, he didn't realize it when his left arm instinctively travelled to the junction between his neck and shoulder. With the tips of his fingers, he kneaded the swollen symbols of the cursed seal on his skin. Like a varicose vein, the seal would mould and give under the pads of his fingers. Once, he remembered, he had tried to scratch it out, scratch out whatever it was that caused his skin to rise and swell like that. But all his fingernails did was draw blood. And when the scratches healed the seal was left, darker and more vibrant than before.

Sasuke came to his senses gradually as he realized that the familiar, mildly painful, throbbing sensation he attributed to the presence of the seal was gone. Intrigued, he pressed his fingers further into the seal. No pain. On the contrary, the seal seemed to be pulsing some kind of warmth through his shoulder. The minute waves came in time to his heartbeat and, instead of hurting, they soothed his tense muscles.

It felt good.

Sasuke's anger skyrocketed in that second and he tore his hand away from the seal with a mixture between disgust and horror. What was this? Another one of Orochimaru's manipulations? Was he himself coming to accept the seal? No, Sasuke would never accept this parasite on his shoulder. Whether it caused him pain or not, he wasn't so easily swayed.

With an explosive, frustrated exhale, the dark haired teen threw himself back onto the mattress. He stared at the wood of the ceiling and clenched his teeth tightly.

He wanted to go out. He wanted to train, to get stronger… to _hit _something.

But Sasuke was not a fool. He was on a mission; he was in a strange place with strange people and it would be idiotic to go traipsing around the city trying to find something he could set on fire. He was stuck.

The teen didn't know how much time passed as he lay there on his back, but it seemed that day was taking forever to come. It was pitch black outside. He guessed it was probably some time after three. In spite of the hour though, Sasuke found himself unable to sleep. Partially, it was due to the restless energy he could still feel running through him, but it was more so due to the excessive noise around him.

While Sasuke's own thoughts had quietened in his head, outside noises had risen up, needlessly loud in his ears.

The most obvious of these sounds, and most disturbing, was the unreal level of snoring in the room.

Sasuke had thought he'd never find a person louder and more obnoxious than Naruto; but that had been before he'd met Tyson. Put together, the two boys sounded like they were sawing wood. Worse, the walls had such excellent acoustics that the sound reverberated around the room making it seem like there were at least four or five Narutos snoring in his ears. Sasuke would have gotten no reprieve even if he'd clapped his hands over his ears and buried his head under his pillow.

How could anyone sleep in such noise?

It was uncanny that, as soon as he'd had this mental thought, his ears picked out another sound under the snoring: a rustle of fabric being pushed out of the way, then the creak of wood as someone rose to their feet. Whoever it was, was obviously trying to be quiet: their movements were light and measured. But Sasuke was a ninja, and when one has attended a school with courses specifically geared toward making one paranoid, it was difficult not to pick up on little skills such as hypersensitive ears.

Whoever-it-was began to step between the bedrolls and Sasuke slowed his breathing and feigned sleep as the person neared. Feeling the presence pass over him without a hitch, Sasuke immediately opened his eyes and glanced to the side just in time to see the person glide out of the room.

The shadows were heavy around the threshold, but there was no way Sasuke could mistake that annoying, trailing scarf.

Kai.

Sasuke didn't even have to consider his decision before he rose like a shadow from his own bed and ghosted out of the room, tailing the older youth.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Eleven-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Awesome! I had a lot of fun putting this chapter together; I hope it was a good read! Now, time for you anonymous reviewers :3

**Angel-chan:** Heya! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. :D Wondering who the two mysterious trench-coat-wearing creepy dudes were, huh? Well… lemme just say that you're gonn find out _really _soon ^.^

**Darakna: **So! Yep you're right, there's more to Naruto than meets the eye… Hmm… That whole point about creating jutsus… it makes you wonder, huh? Like, how do you make one? Are there unlimited combinations? If there are, then that sort of makes Orochimaru's life goal of learning all the jutsus moot, doesn't it? Oh and, that conversation with Mr. T WAS pretty awkward, wasn't it (giggles)… it was so much fun to write though XD I'm glad you liked the conversation about attack rings—it was such a random idea that sort of popped into my head as I was writing—it does kinda make sense that Beybladers would have different attack rings though, doesn't it? Also, Max and his father have such a cute bond; I couldn't help including it (same as Tyson and his grandfather in this chapter :D). That idea of divorce and Naruto's reaction… is sort of based on how I reacted the first time someone explained to me, so casually, how their parents were divorced. Granted, I was younger, but innocence has no age limit, I guess XDD. And… look at Rei in this chapter! (Grins) I'm so proud :D… As for the thugs in the hall… Ah, random thugs, so fun to just _throw _them in and watch how they stir things up XDD Oh and Sakura… goodness, (facepalm) I don't know what I'm gonna do with that girl. She scares me a little, I think XDD. Anyways! Hope you liked the chapter!

**Faryl:** Hehe, yes! You're absolutely right! Rei is NEVER this cold and unfriendly towards people, ever! So, really, the question isn't 'Why am I making Rei like this', rather, it's more 'What's _making_ Rei act like this?' ^.^ And no, it's not the Japanese Rei has issues with, just ninja… As for Sasuke… yeah, his moods fluctuates and changes like a tide… At this point, Itachi has beaten him, but he hasn't lost to Naruto and Kakashi hasn't cornered him and made him feel guilty for seeking revenge… But… I think I embellished a lot on his character in this chapter, I hope it made clearer what I'm trying to portray in him.

**Hey: **Hey! XD Thanks for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter too!

**Arcia: **Hi!! Yay! You really find this story funny? That's awesome! :D I hope you liked this chapter too!

**FairyDyris: **Hmm… yes, I enjoy character development and occasional pointless interaction so there will pop up a few chapters here and there like the last one… But at any rate, plenty of plot in this chapter, hope you liked!

**Sciura: **Yeah, character interactions take space I want everyone to get to know everyone so that means there will be a lot of side conversations (Hehe, I like Rei and Sasuke too, it's so _odd_ XD). I'm glad you like the details though… Oh, and… they haven't reached the airport yet! (Evil grin) Time for a detour… hehe…

**Lil_insanegal:** Hello! Thank you so much for reviewing, and I'm really glad you're enjoying it! I got this chapter up as soon as I could (sheepish grin) I hope it was fun!

**fawks136: **Hiya! Er… Yeah, I know you have an account but I kinda forgot to look you up and then I decided it would be simpler to respond here (…_Noo_… I wasn't too lazy to type your penname in search and click on the PM button… oh noooo… XDD). Anyway! Yeah, poor Sasuke ^.^ He has all these issues and then Kai just _had _to swoop in taking his title as 'confident badass' XDD Oh and I know your favourite Naruto character is Gaara but… I just don't feel like I know enough about him to write a one-shot… I'm sorry :( I did a _lot _of research (Naruto is a LONG manga _...) for that Itachi one-shot and… er… I'm not actually into Naruto enough to do it again ^.^' Sorry! I… uh… I really hope you know what I mean :3 (Oh, and I hope you did well on your exams!)

**Myriam:** Hey! Wow… one of the best? (blushes) Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed (If I forgot to respond to anyone… I'm really sorry! I was horribly disorganized with the reviews this chapter, but I read each and every review (twice! XD) and each one encouraged me to write this chapter :D): **CleverPhoenix, , Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, StarShinobi, Rapunzelle, Miharu-desu, Acier Glace, dragonlilly1993, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, terracannon876, CoNfUsEd-but-lOvEd, Dani Hiwatari, Kuma the wolf alchemist, Angel-chan, beybladeingninjaprincess, alanacrystal, Darakna, vlissan, Faryl, stephvamp25, hey, DANHK, Arcia, FallenHope-Angel, Mizuki hikari, Thunder Gardian, bladz-liska, FairyDyris, grey-shadow-horse, Jadej.j, Aacura, Sciura, Haro kzoids, The Fallenangel927, ShadowBlade7330, Lil-insanegal, Hiira, fawks136, 99DenmonChick99, Alexxis T. Swan, SouthernDragon, Myriam, Leina, Arkadyevna, ShadowWolfDagger, Lady Demoonica Darkmoon,** **Tears of Eternal Darkness, Maria101 **and **wolf's lament****!**

**Adio!**


	12. SCARY NIGHT ADVENTURE: The Big Question!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **It's my birthday! It's my birthday! (Dances) So here's an update for you all! :D AND It's extra long!

…And nooo, I'm not gonna tell you how old I am, hehe. Though if you're sneaky you could probably figure it out ^.^

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I**_ …(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I**_**…(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself._

_**J. Gregory Keyes**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Twelve-.,'**_

_SCARY NIGHT ADVENTURE: The Big Question!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Kakashi's right eye opened.

With something resembling humour, steeped in exasperation, the single eye lazily tracked the movement in the room, watching as first one boy, then the second, left in quick succession.

Rising up in a single, fluid motion, the blankets pooled at his waist then slid completely off as Kakashi rose to his feet without so much as a whisper of sound.

Throwing a quick look around the room, the ninja made certain that all the other teens in the room were asleep: it wouldn't do to have even _more _people sneaking out while he was gone.

The _shoji _window was left wide in the stifling humidity: its simple wooden frame and rice paper panels shifted aside to expose rustling tree leaves and thin slivers of silver light. A quick glance through this opening confirmed the hour as much to late for this kind of nonsense. Kakashi sighed.

With movements driven by habits too deeply ingrained to shirk—even for what was probably going to be a harmless, if annoying, outing—Kakashi slung his padded vest over his shoulders and, from one of the pockets, long pale fingers drew out his metal plated headband.

He did all this while keeping his left eye closed. Now, Kakashi touched the back of the headband to his left eyelid. Holding the hitai-ate over the eye with his fingertips, the ninja's hand stilled for a hair of a second longer than necessary before sweeping over the engraved leaf pattern and moving to the back of his head to guide the material into a quick, secure knot.

Kakashi looked over at the sleeping teens before him as he reached down once more, this time to grab his weapons pouch—one hand secured the leather bag to his belt while the other passed reassuringly over the mask covering the lower half of his face. Tyson and Naruto were out like lights: sprawled across the floor and snoring up a storm. One of the former's bare feet was dangerously close to the latter's nose, which promised a highly amusing scene in the morning; but for now Kakashi just shook his head and looked away.

Max and Kenny were laying nearby and the two girls, Sakura and Hilary, were sound asleep on the other side of the room.

Finally, there was the last member of their motley group. Rei was propped up against the wall, arms crossed lightly as his chin drooped toward his chest with every soft exhale. Of all he teens, Kakashi was most concerned that this Chinese boy would be wake up and follow him once he left. Stubborn and suspicious, Rei had set himself up under the only window in the room. Pressing his back against the wall in a way that spoke without words of his distrust, Rei had effectively taken the only position in the room where he could sit and observe everyone while guarding the only exits to the room: the open window at his back and the door directly in front of him. It had been a smart gesture, and Kakashi certainly couldn't begrudge the teen his loyalty and protectiveness toward his team.

But whatever his intentions, the early hours before dawn found the teen senseless to the waking world: weak moonlight haloing his head as his mouth parted to expel nearly soundless, rhythmic puffs of air.

He looked much younger in his sleep, Kakashi noted. The dark haired teen had the smooth, un-shadowed face of someone who did not carry heavy burdens of guilt or spite. The ninja would guess that Rei was not someone who normally held grudges; which made him wonder if the boy's distrust for ninja bred from having lost someone close to him in the war…

Putting away those thoughts, Kakashi focused on the present. His eyes fell on Kai Hiwatari's empty bedroll—which looked practically untouched.

It seemed one of their clients had decided to take an unscheduled, midnight romp.

Kakashi would have liked to believe Sasuke had followed Kai in the pure interests of keeping their client safe.

But he knew his student too well for that. And Kakashi wasn't in the habit of deluding himself.

Sensing Sasuke's chakra moving on the edge of his senses, he crossed the room with long, swift strides.

Then, without warning, his feet left the ground as he leapt clean over Rei's head, touching the windowsill long enough to control his vault as he flew noiselessly through the open window and exited the room.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Kakashi strolled down the narrow dirt track—hands clasped behind his back—looking up at the overgrown trees and heavy bushes that crowded the empty park. Dead leaves and twigs carpeted the ground, but Kakashi didn't even glance downward as his feet seemed to instinctively find patches of soft earth or moss to cover the sound of his footfalls. Wisps of wind brought the dark shadows to life as they danced and grew with each sigh of the trembling branches. In the dead hours of the night, not a soul was to be seen in the lightless park save himself, Sasuke and the youth they were both currently following.

Some distance away, Sasuke crouched in a tree, waiting among the branches as he eyed the long white scarf disappear around yet another obscure, nearly invisible bend in the path. After having followed that scarf and its owner for a good ten minutes, Sasuke was finally tired of pretending to ignore the presence that had been tailing him since he'd left the dojo.

"I know you're there." His words were barely more than a low whisper; he knew no more was necessary. "You might as well come out now."

Kakashi was beside him so suddenly that, had Sasuke been anyone else, he would have started. As it were, the teen rolled his eyes upward in a distinctly irritated manner, managing to give the elder ninja a look that was both unamused and reproachful in the span of bare milliseconds before simply dismissing him and turning his eyes back downward.

Completely unruffled by this less-than-warm welcome, Kakashi's visible eye crinkled as he gave a hidden smile.

"Yo."

Sasuke let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a snort.

"You followed me." Came the dark-haired teen's flat response.

Kakashi's cheery demeanour didn't falter and he shrugged. "Didn't want my cute little student to hurt himself, running around in his night clothes."

Sasuke didn't bother responding to that one, pointedly ignoring the fact that he was barefoot, dressed only in a simple t-shirt and sweatpants while his teacher was decked out in nearly his entire jonin uniform.

A sudden disturbance in the air had both ninja dropping all casual conversation as their backs stiffened. The rustling of the trees was muffled, silence stifling the too-still air.

Then both ninja were moving as they leapt to the ground and slid into the shadows, stealthily tracking the footsteps of the eldest Bladebreaker.

"Do you know why he came here? Who he's meeting?" Kakashi asked in a quiet undertone.

"No."

If Kakashi were going to say anything more it was quickly suppressed as the two ninja unexpectedly arrived at a small clearing. Melding back into the darkness, the silent spectators took advantage of their surroundings by jumping into the trees as they evaluated the scene with trained eyes.

The small circular clearing was enclosed on all sides by tall greenery: black trunks lead into a dark, gloomy mass of leaves that dissolved into a starless, cloudy sky. The shadows of long branches groped across the overgrown grass. Here and there, the moonlight broke through the clouds and trees in choked shards, turning grass to molten silver and alighting on a single, lonely park bench overgrown with weeds. Through the middle of the forgotten little clearing, threading through grass and fallen leaves, was a flat path of gravel and sand.

At the very edge of the clearing, standing directly in the middle of the path was Kai Hiwatari.

Dressed in jeans and a long trench coat closed over a simple black t-shirt, Kai's arms were folded as he stared expectantly at the empty air before him. His lengthy white scarf picked up on the nearly non-existent breeze and flustered calmly behind his back, catching the light of the moon like a silver beacon. Alert and outfitted as he was, one never would have guessed that barely a quarter of an hour ago Kai was feigning sleep in the Granger dojo.

Sasuke frowned as the danger signal in the back of his head suddenly flared.

"We're not alone." Kakashi murmured; not that Sasuke needed the warning, he'd already spotted the two burly men in long coats headed toward the clearing.

The same thugs who'd elbowed their way past them so rudely before Kai's apartment building.

To say Sasuke was suspicious was an understatement.

"_Dobry vyecher, Master Hiwatari!"_ The two men stopped exactly five paces away from Kai, standing to sharp attention and raising up one hand in a smart salute.

That was certainly a change from the rude way they'd bullied Kai earlier. Sasuke's eyebrows rose. But the language change bothered him; they weren't speaking Japanese. He detected a word of English in there: the men had referred to Kai as 'Master' but everything else was gibberish. Pride stopped the teen from immediately asking his teacher about it and Kakashi didn't offer any input.

Kai didn't say anything—just stood there stoically, arms crossed, an expression of deep reproof etched into his features.

One of the men lowered his head then said something else in that strange, guttural language and Kai's expression, if anything, darkened. The teen moved—reached into the folds of his trench coat—and pulled out a rectangular piece of paper.

No—Sasuke peered at the object—not a piece of paper, a letter.

Kakashi seemed to be particularly intrigued by this simple letter, a fact that did not escape Sasuke's notice.

With a flick of his fingers, Kai sent the letter spinning in the air toward the two men. It sailed through the air before falling short and landing in a puddle of mud.

One of the burly men asked a question.

Sasuke scowled, cursing the fact that they didn't learn languages outside of Japanese and English at the ninja academy.

Finally, when Kai himself opened his mouth and responded in that exact same language, his words perfectly calm and unhesitating—as though he'd spoken that bizarre, unknown language all his life—Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and turned to Kakashi.

"What the hell are they speaking?" He demanded in a harsh whisper.

And when the elder ninja merely responded with a lazy shrug, Sasuke had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something he'd regret.

"I don't know." Came Kakashi's slow response. "Though if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say Russian."

_Russian_. Sasuke's gaze grew thoughtful as he watched Kai and the two unnamed thugs banter back and forth in brusque, clipped syllables; the conversation was mostly one-sided, with the two men looking like they wanted to convince Kai of something and the youth brushing them off with strange, almost monosyllabic words that curled his lips derisively. From what they knew of Kai's past, he had a relative who lived in Russia, had _himself _lived in Russia… So why wouldn't he know the language?

Sasuke leaned back, forcing himself to just sit there and observe objectively.

One of the men spat out some more words—which sounded thick, almost chewy, to Sasuke's ears—and a sudden change came across Kai. His back straightened, and for the shortest moments his eyes went wide with unguarded surprise. Sasuke blinked and the expression was gone, as though it had never been there in the first place.

Kai's mouth then quirked into a cold sneer as his own, low answer rolled off his tongue. The thugs tensed and one laid a large hand on something under his jacket—probably that same gleaming weapon Sasuke had glimpsed earlier. They seemed to be having some sort of disagreement.

The dark-haired teen was certain that he'd heard the name _Voltaire _mentioned once or twice.

"Watch out, our services might yet be needed." Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded dutifully but instead of standing alert and ready, he did just the opposite: reposing against the tree in an unconcerned slouch. There was a shadow of a smirk around his mouth; so, this boy liked to act all tough and omniscient?

He couldn't wait to see a demonstration of the great and wonderful talents of _Kai Hiwatari._

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"_Dobry vyecher, Master Hiwatari!"_ _Good evening, Master Hiwatari!_ The two bulky men, dressed in even bulkier overcoats, each brought up their right hands in a smart salute—though not before subtly brushing aside the edges of their coats, enough to allow the youth before them the briefest glimpse of the long, polished guns they had strapped to their waists.

Kai's only acknowledgement of their presence was the slight narrowing of his eyes as he stood in stony silence.

"_**I**_**I**_ We've come regarding the unanswered package you received a week ago… __**I**_**I**" One of the men said, speaking in authoritative Russian. But when Kai didn't offer any response, the second man spoke up.

"_**I**_**I**_ We know you're interested, otherwise you would have ignored the invitation we left in your room. __**I**_**I**" The man smirked knowingly.

Kai's frown deepened and, from a pocket within his trench coat, he pulled out a crisp, white letter. With an idle flick of the wrist, he sent the letter spiralling into the mud.

"_**I**_**I**_ Did you read it? __**I**_**I**" Asked the first man.

"_**I**_**I**_ Abbey guards… perceptive as always. __**I**_**I**" Kai drawled in a tone that was definitely not complimentary. The letter contained the time and place for their current meeting. Of course he'd read it._"__**I**_**I**_ Tell me, did Boris send you; or was it... my dear _Grandfather?_**I**_**I**" The way Kai's eyes light up fiercely as he said the last word had the Abbey guards nearly twitching for their guns.

Deciding it would be in their best interest to get to the point, the second man gathered himself together and gave his answer. _"__**I**_**I**_ Lord Voltaire wishes us to convey a message to you— __**I**_**I**" He was abruptly cut off.

"_**I**_**I**_ I will hear nothing that he has to say. __**I**_**I**" Kai said stiffly. "_**I**_**I**_ If you have nothing more useful to say—__**I**_**I**"

"_**I**_**I**_ But our orders—! __**I**_**I**" The first man was sweating, but stuttered to a halt when his partner raised a hand.

There was a sly expression twisting the second man's thick lips. "_**I**_**I**_ Oh, I think you'll want to hear this. __**I**_**I**"

"_**I**_**I**_ Oh? __**I**_**I**" Kai's tone mocked, but the man didn't waver.

"_**I**_**I**_ Lord Voltaire sends us with a very urgent message for you… he sent an earlier package with another man… Which was, unfortunately, improperly received. __**I**_**I**" What was not mentioned in this statement was how the former messenger had been sent back to Lord Voltaire, limping and whimpering from various injuries he'd _received_ while trying to give said message to the younger Hiwatari. Kai smirked and the Abbey guard's face fell into an ugly expression. "_**I**_**I**_ So we were sent to make _sure _the message got across. __**I**_**I**" Another flick of a large, meaty hand and the not-so-concealed weapon flashed in the moonlight.

Kai's blood red eyes didn't even flicker to the gun, instead they retained their vaguely scornful expression as he regarded the Abbey guard evenly.

The first guard was clearly disconcerted about this blatantly indifferent attitude, but the second stood strong: he'd been warned about this. The latter licked his lips before continuing his speech.

"_**I**_**I**_ Lord Voltaire has some information he wishes you to know concerning the upcoming tournament in Russia. __**I**_**I**" The man stopped, waiting for some sort of response: the word to continue or a blatant refusal. But after a long pause of empty, tense quiet, the man began to feel the urge to fidget, much like his partner.

Finally, Kai's eyebrow arched.

The man took this as, at the very least, an agreement to listen. And he silently breathed a sigh of relief before continuing. "_**I**_**I**_ The Lord wishes you to fight by his side in the upcoming Beyblade tournament. __**I**_**I**"

Kai didn't even look surprised. If anything his bland, non-expression had a '_Is that all?'_ quality about it.

"_**I**_**I**_ No. __**I**_**I**" Kai's answer was simple, laconic, and utterly vapid. The guard knew instinctively that nothing they could do would change the teen's mind. Though his partner seemed to have a different opinion.

"_**I**_**I**_ You can't say no to Lord Voltaire! __**I**_**I**" His partner exclaimed with a wide, erratic gesture. Kai's eyes stared through the man, bored. "_**I**_**I**_ He's, He's—! __**I**_**I**"

'_Your master, not mine.'_ The guard's mouth pulled downwards hatefully as he practically heard the words being spoken by the younger Hiwatari; though not a single word escaped the teen, his eyes seemed to be laughing derisively.

"_**I**_**I**_ Lord Voltaire anticipated such a response. __**I**_**I**" The guard put in, cutting off his partner's inane babbling, and he took pleasure in seeing the amusement chased out of Kai's expression by a more likeable one: doubt. He had had enough experience in reading the faces of emotionally retarded brats to recognize the look, though his partner seemed oblivious to the change.

"_**I**_**I**_ In the event that you refuse his kind offer,__** I**_**I**" He continued. "_**I**_**I**_ Lord Voltaire told us to convey to you his strongest_ _desire that… __**I**_**I**" The Abbey guard let his tongue draw out the words into a purposefully dramatic silence, enjoying the way the young Hiwatari's face tightened in annoyance. "_**I**_**I**_ For your own safety, you withdraw from the tournament and remain in Japan. __**I**_**I**"

And _that _got a reaction.

Kai's face showed open shock as he tensed, rocking backwards on his heels. The Abbey guard smirked knowingly and immediately the shutters came down in Kai's eyes. Like rubbing a cloth over a whiteboard, Kai's face was swept clean of all expression in a moment. But it was a moment too late. The boy's vulnerability had been exposed; the man expected Hiwatari's entire icy exterior would fall soon after. Like so many cards painstakingly arranged, the boy was weak, it only took a little push—

But then Kai's mouth twitched. From the way his head was tilted downward, the Abbey guard couldn't see the teen's face, but something about the way that predatory smirk was growing across his pale face made him ill at ease.

Kai looked up, mocking sneer in place, eyes flashing with enough self-assurance that the guard was doubting he'd even really seen that glimmer of open emotion just seconds earlier.

"_**I**_**I**_ You fools. I don't heed the barks of dogs. If my dear Grandfather has something to say, let him say it in person_._**I**_**I**"

His partner was reaching for his gun at the word 'dogs'; and by the last word his own hand was twitching toward his piece. This brat wasn't going to listen. Too spoiled—the Abbey guard looked into those fierce eyes of blood—too arrogant. The boy hadn't spent enough time at the Abbey to be properly broken.

Well, he always did like a bit of rebellion—his large upper lip drew back to reveal yellowing teeth in a feral grin—it kept him on his toes.

"_**I**_**I**_ I'm afraid that my Lord insists. __**I**_**I**" The man's voice was just a little too sweet, and Kai frowned. "_**I**_**I**_ We have orders to make sure you comply with his wishes. __**I**_**I**"

And in an instant before his partner even had time to blink, the Abbey guard had pulled out his gun and shot at Kai.

"_**I**_**I**_ By force if necessary! __**I**_**I**" He screamed.

There was a noise in the trees, some out of place rustling—the man was about to toward the sound—but then Kai _moved_.

Twisting his body to the side with a speed that should have been impossible, Kai dodged the shot aimed at his heart.

Alarm bells started going off in the guard's head as he remembered all the stories he'd been told about this red-eyed demon. _'Whatever you do, don't miss.'_ Hadn't that been the first and most important point Boris had drilled into his head?

His partner had completely lost all semblance of calm and had begun to shoot wildly at Kai. His aim was terrible and the other man wanted to yell at his partner not to waste ammo; but then Kai's trench coat flashed outward, twirling in the air as the teen swiftly stepped out from its folds and threw it into the air before himself. The shots struck the coat, peppering the cloth with dull, little _'fith' 'fith 'fith'_ sounds.

Not bullets, but miniscule darts appeared on the coat as his partner shot again and again.

Finally, the man's hand shot out, forcefully grabbing the muzzle of his partner's gun and forcing it down.

The shots stopped.

The coat swirled in the air, speckled with countless white-and-red feathered darts. Then it began to settle; it drifted to the ground.

All was silent. Even the odd rustling in the trees had hushed.

The coat landed on the ground revealing… Nothing.

Kai Hiwatari had disappeared.

And now the Abbey guard was feeling the urge to panic, much like his nervous, jittery partner, whose hands where twitching so badly he'd probably shoot himself in the foot any second. Realizing that his partner was going to be no help at all and that he was supposed to take down this Hiwatari kid—an ex-elite of the Abbey, no less—practically alone, made his mouth run bone dry.

"_**I**_**I**_ Out! __**I**_**I**" The word exploded from the man's mouth before he'd even thought about it. He raised his gun, aimed it in no direction—every direction—at once. "_**I**_**I**_ Come out! Stop hiding away! Coward! Running away are you? Fine, run! Run, you yellow-bellied traitor! That's all you ever do! __**I**_**I**" The guard had no idea what he was saying anymore—mocking Lord Hiwatari's Grandson? Boris' prodigy? What was he thinking?—But he couldn't stop the insults as they flew from his mouth like a river. It was too silent, too empty. Every second that passed with Kai remaining hidden in the shadows was mental torture. The man flashed the gun to the left. Then, hearing a twig snap, flashed it to the right. Where was that effing brat?

"_**I**_**I**_ Surprise. __**I**_**I**" The word, low and deadly, spoken right in his ear with the barest breath of air, had the guard unconsciously squealing as he swung around—bringing the gun up—shooting at the phantom image of Kai's smirking face and sweeping white scarf.

But there was nothing. Shadows; shadows and trees.

The clearing was empty, no sign of that cursed smirk or bright white scarf.

It was silent.

And then the man realized it was _too _silent.

Looking down, the man exhaled a string of foul curses as he saw his partner slumped on the ground, comatose, with a feathered dart sticking out of an artery in his neck. When had that happened? Looking back at the trench coat still laying innocently on the ground, he had his answer: the Hiwatari brat must have plucked one of the darts from the coat then threw it at his partner. So panicked was he, he'd never even heard the other man fall.

And then the Abbey guard looked down at his fallen partner's hands. _Empty _hands.

Another, more vulgar, curse was uttered.

The brat had taken the gun.

"_**I**_**I**_ Interesting weapon you have. __**I**_**I**" Again that soft, too calm voice came from somewhere behind the guard and he swivelled around, bringing his own gun up in line with the teen's face. But Kai didn't even flinch as he stood not ten paces away. In one hand, a long gun hung from idle fingers—in the other, a miniature red and white dart was being carefully examined between pale digits.

The guard bit his tongue, wishing the teen would do everyone a favour and prick his own finger.

"_**I**_**I**_ Your friend went down pretty fast… __**I**_**I**" With Kai, not a single word was ever wasted. Even though he was speaking in that slow, rolling drawl, the Abbey guard knew he was building up to some point. Kai didn't disappoint. "_**I**_**I**_ The dosage… Enough to bring down an elephant. __**I**_**I**" The tone was light, but was not spoken in a way that implied a question was being asked. Kai was stating a fact—and he was right in his assumption, the man realized bitterly—yet the way the teen was regarding him, something in his eyes or the line of his jaw, seemed to demand a response.

"_**I**_**I**_ Lord Voltaire didn't want to take any chances. __**I**_**I**" The Abbey guard said reluctantly. "_**I**_**I**_ And Director Balkov said it would take that much to bring you down. __**I**_**I**"

"_**I**_**I**_ Ah. __**I**_**I**" Seemingly satisfied by the answer, Kai deftly flicked the dart away with the tips of his fingernails. The guard watched, somewhat regretfully, as the little oval shaped objet spun towards the ground, striking point-down, the long needle sticking in the earth as the feathers stood upward proudly. "_**I**_**I**_ Boris. __**I**_**I**" Kai seemed pensive, and he took a few steps towards the larger man.

Instantly, he tensed, cocking his gun. But he didn't fire. What on Earth was causing his finger to hesitate on the trigger, he had no clue. Maybe it was the way that Kai had yet to raise his own gun, which was still hanging casually at the teen's side.

"_**I**_**I**_ You've been useful. But I'm afraid our little conversation must come to an end. __**I**_**I**" Kai's voice was cold, but pragmatic, as though he were dismissing a simple dinner guest.

This utter calmness in youth's tone—how he could stand there so confidently, even with a potentially deadly gun aimed at the spot between his eyes—disturbed the guard and the tip of the dart-gun wavered. "_**I**_**I**_ What are you talking about? __**I**_**I**" He asked, uncertain.

But Kai didn't answer. Instead his eyes went to something up and beyond the man's shoulder.

"_**I**_**I **_**Now!**_ _**I**_**I" **Kai threw out the order, in crisp English, seemingly to the thin air.

The guard felt the briefest pinch at the spot where his neck met his shoulder, then the world abruptly faded into a haze of black and his legs crumpled.

His last conscious thoughts were of demon eyes and phantom scarves that pursued him into his nightmares.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

"Now _that _was certainly interesting." Kakashi's visible eye was twinkling as he stood over the unconscious Abbey guard, who he'd just knocked unconscious with a quick jab at a convenient pressure point. His words were spoken in Japanese. Sasuke, a distinctly surly expression on his face, was standing at his teacher's side, his hands stuffed deeply into the pockets of his sweatpants.

Kakashi looked over to the only other conscious person in the clearing aside from the ninja but Kai was busy examining the gun in his hands and didn't seem to notice the elder's shrewd stare. Nonetheless, Kakashi continued speaking. "English, Japanese and… Russian, is it? You certainly know your way around languages." The tone was light and ambiguous, belying the more serious topics that strained the air.

Kai didn't respond. Instead he turned his back to the ninja before bending and scooping up his trench coat. With a harsh shake, at least ten or twenty little darts were dislodged from the fabric, tumbling to the ground. Kai eyed the jacket, frowning as he studied the numerous tiny pinpricks in the material.

Sasuke was growing more irritated and impatient with every millisecond that passed in silence and he took a sudden, aggressive step forward. "Explain yourself. Now." He barked. Kai's speed—the skill he'd demonstrated—had taken the dark-haired ninja by surprised. And that realization soured both his tongue and his mood.

"Who were those men and what where they saying?" Kakashi clarified in a much quieter tone.

But when Kai continued his silence, even Kakashi's expression hardened.

"We were hired to do a job. I would appreciate it if you didn't consciously make it more difficult by putting yourself and your _teammates _in danger." There was a certain inflection on the word 'teammates' that made it seem like Kakashi was… channelling some buried emotion. Sasuke noticed this odd intonation but, not finding it particularly useful, dismissing the observation to the back of his mind.

Kakashi regarded Kai with a disapproving stare. "You are deliberately withholding information that could endanger more people than just yourself. You owe us—" Something gleaming and black was launched at the ninja's head. Inches away from his face, Kakashi's fingers fastened deftly around the long object with a metallic _clack_; mild perplexion was visible in his visible eye.

In Kakashi's right hand was the very dart gun Kai had been holding just seconds earlier.

Sasuke had started forward when Kai threw the weapon at his teacher's face. But when it didn't appear to do any harm, he instead fixed a dark, penetrating glare on Kai, as though trying to strip the teen's motives from him with his bare eyes.

"I owe you nothing." Kai stated succinctly. "You, however, might want to study that." The teen's red eyes flicked to the gun. "It's the first time you've seen one, after all."

Kakashi's head titled. "Why would you think that?" Sasuke knew that tone in his teacher's voice. It was the quiet, carefully unassuming tone Kakashi used when he was trying pull information from an unwilling source. It was interesting to be on the other side of that tone for once, Sasuke realized as he turned his eyes back to Kai.

The long trench coat swirled in the air as Kai swung it over his shoulders. Shadows and long bangs fell across his face as he turned away from the ninja, but Sasuke didn't need to see the teen's expression to hear the cheekiness in his next words.

"You let them meet with me tonight."

And those words left a heavy, accusative pause in the air.

Sasuke seethed at the implied insult—the dripping arrogance.

"Well," Kakashi's voice had gone back to its typical flippancy. He'd lowered the weapon in his hand, although—Sasuke noticed—the elder ninja seemed to be keeping a very firm grip on it. "You seemed to be doing a fine job of holding them off on your own."

Kai's back was to the ninja, but his head twisted and Sasuke got a glimpse of his eyes—eyes that made the young ninja unconsciously grind his teeth together. "It is _your _job to prevent them from coming anywhere near us." Kai's voice was soft, but the disparaging tone spoke volumes. "Once they get past your incompetent care it becomes my job to deal with them. And I will do what is necessary." And with that comment Kai's eyes seemed to flash, lit by some unknown spark.

Sasuke had had enough.

In a second he'd sprung forward—so quickly, that the dirt he'd kicked up had yet to settle before he'd crossed the clearing to stand directly in front of the older teen. Sharingan blazed to life in his eyes as Sasuke was very suddenly staring down a pair of bloody red eyes that were eerily similar to his own. Kai looked taken aback, eyes slightly widened at the sheer speed Sasuke had demonstrated so easily; but he didn't move—did not step backward—and for a long, immeasurable moment, they just stared each other down.

It was like an immovable object meeting an irresistible force.

Sasuke scowled violently.

Kai's eyebrow arched haughtily.

Kakashi's head cocked.

"You." Sasuke hissed and Kai's eyebrow lifted higher, if that were possible. "Your _eyes_."

"What of them?" It was the first time Kai had responded so readily. It was also the first time Kakashi had heard the teen ask a question without a hint of sarcasm or arrogance. If anything, Kai looked… curious.

But Sasuke, wrapped up in battling his own personal demons, didn't notice this unnatural openness in Kai's expression. Hands tensed into clawed at his sides, Sasuke had to physically stop himself from reaching for the older teen's throat by forcing his hands into fists and pressing them to his thighs. "_Are they real?_" The dark haired teen demanded.

Kai leaned back abruptly and his expression turned guarded. He didn't answer.

Sasuke looked about ready to beat the answer out of the older teen so Kakashi decided to step in.

"Your eyes are red." He stated simply. Two pairs of eyes turned toward the elder ninja and Kakashi put a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing awkwardly. The combined effect of Sasuke's burning, Sharingan enhanced glower and Kai's intense stare was discomforting, even for him. "And Mr. Dickenson told us they've been that colour for as long as he'd known you."

It was exasperation that curved Kai's lips in that moment, Kakashi was sure. The youth's face turned to the side and the word '_Dickenson'_ was muttered in a disapproving tsk. To be able to muster such an honest emotion—one so completely free of malice—at such a tense moment bumped Kakashi's opinion of the youth up by several notches.

Then Kai raised his head and looked Kakashi full on with those unnaturally coloured eyes. "So it would seem." Was his ambiguous answer.

"The presence of red in the irises shows the heightened presence of chakra near the retina and nerve coils. It indicates a high ability of genjustu skills—illusionary manipulation. It is very uncommon, even among ninja. Some are born with the ability." Here a glance was spared to Sasuke. "And some train all their lives to build up that level of chakra control." Kakashi paused. He considered Kai.

"You have no ability to mould chakra." It was a statement. "I sense within you the same unfocused chaotic energy that resides within all civilians. You've had no training in focusing those latent energies." Kakashi said conclusively.

Kai did not deny it.

"Without chakra, it should be impossible for you to have—" Kakashi began but he was abruptly cut off.

"Exactly!" Sasuke interrupted, swinging his head around and going back to boring holes into Kai's skull with his eyes. They were standing close enough that Sasuke had to tilt his head up to look the older teen in the eye and Kai made sure Sasuke felt this inequality fully by raising his chin vaguely and looking down his nose at the dark-haired ninja. But Sasuke didn't back down. Instead, he grew even more inflamed.

"Now, tell me! Your eyes! Are they real or not?!" Sasuke demanded.

Kai didn't blink; his face was perfectly straight as he answered calmly. "They are."

Silence.

Kakashi opened his mouth, ready to take Kai's word and move one, but Sasuke spoke before any sound could pass his lips.

"You're lying." Sasuke accused harshly.

Kai blinked, actually looking somewhat surprised.

Kakashi just leaned back, watching the exchange with some fascination.

"What makes you think that?" Quickly regaining his composure, Kai's tone was bland as he asked the question—almost an exact mirror of Kakashi not ten minutes earlier.

Sasuke's lips pressed together into a thin line as he fumed silently. He volunteered no response.

Kai waited, studying Sasuke for a long moment.

Then, without saying a word, he turned and walked away.

And that was the end of that.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Twelve-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Mwe hee hee hee hee (evil grin).

Hunh… That was the first time I've actually written a conversation between 3 people while keeping 2 of the participants completely faceless… I hope it wasn't too confusing :3

**PetalwhiskerX: **Heya! You're the same **PetalwhiskerXFireheart **from other reviews, right? I wasn't completely sure 'cause your review was anonymous ^.^ But anyway! YAY for random thugs! They're so awesome…. and expendable (snigger). Hope you enjoyed!

**WolfSong:** Ah… you must've lost the story when I switched it over to the 'crossover' section, right? Sorry for the confusion ^.^' I'm glad you found it again though :P To answer your question: well, I think that, with Naruto in the story, Kyuubi's appearance is pretty much guaranteed. :D Don't worry, I have _plans_ (hehe, that's _never_ a good sign, huh?). Hope you had fun!

So! Special thanks to everyone who reviewed! **terracannon876, CleverPhoenix, ShadowWolfDagger, Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, Maria101, dragonlilly1993, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, wolf's lament, Kuma the wolf alchemist, Dani Hiwatari, Neko-chan desu desu, FallenHope-Angel, stephvamp25, Crazy anime chick since 1993, Jadej.j, SouthernDragon, d1bontemp, alanacrystal, Arkadyevna, beckylovesgigs, PetalwhiskerX, Tears of Eternal Darkness, Taijiya Mizu, ShOoTiNg-StArS9000, Nameless Little Girl, Haro kzoids, BedknobsAndLlamas, DANHK, Lady Demoonica Darkmoon, Star Shinobi, bladz-liska, 99DenmonChick99, WolfSong, beybladeingninjaprincess, Thunder Gardian, Miharu-desu, Angel T-chan Nekoi, ShadowBlade7330, The Swordsman **AND **Darakna!** Yay! (**Throws up a handful of confetti**)

Everyone who reviews gets a slice of my birthday cake! :D

**Adio!**

**Sholay**


	13. FANGIRL TRAUMA: A Bonding Experience!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **So! I hope everyone had a splendid Christmas! I don't personally celebrate it, but my family's all coming home for the holidays—which usually leads to much fun and insanity in the house XD. Fun times =P

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I**_ …(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I**_**…(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

…

_Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?! _

_An unusual relationship is formed _

_Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma: _

_Kai's red eyes. _

_Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction_

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Thirteen-.,'**_

_FANGIRL TRAUMA: A Bonding Experience!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

The night sky was gradually being bleached the hazy blue of early dawn and already the birds were beginning to awaken; the obnoxious cries of a wheeling crow tailed the small group of males making their way back to Tyson's dojo.

They walked the pathway to Tyson's house in an awkward sort of staggered line. Kai was in front, leading the way, while Kakashi following in a casual stroll. Sasuke hovered somewhere between the two, walking not quite in line with his teacher as he studied the backs of his eyelids, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

The young genin had come to an important conclusion. There was most certainly something very wrong about Kai Hiwatari. But, as much as the teen ticked Sasuke off, he couldn't let himself get distracted. After all, what was Kai but another one out of the six billion others that inhabited the planet?

He was letting himself get distracted by a simple boy! An ant! Sasuke clenched his jaw, felt the strain of his teeth pressing against each other; he was acting childish! Attachments, friendships and even rivalry, it was all irrelevant to Sasuke. Everything was irrelevant, save what was necessary to achieve his goal.

Sasuke let out a breath, let the anger fall from his face, and wiped all thought from his head. Then, almost robotically—and in the same methodical fashion that he'd been using for years—Sasuke began listing his goals.

He needed to get stronger: Kakashi was helping him. Yes, Sasuke knew the copy ninja was holding back information from his students, but Sauske would find a way to wheedle that information out.

He could not form attachments: human bonds would only cloud his judgment. And besides, attachments were fleeting, bound to fail and break at some point or the other; why would he invest in such feeble things?

He had to hunt down his brother. Yes, Sasuke would do it properly this time. No running into each other by accident. Sasuke would find Itachi, challenge his brother and then…

He will kill Itachi.

Sasuke's eyes opened. And it was as though shutters had closed off all emotion behind his bottomless black orbs.

"So, how much weight?" Kakashi's voice slipped past Sasuke's dark thoughts.

Sasuke tilted his head, giving his teacher half his attention as he put his hand on the door to Tyson's dojo. The question had not been directed to him, making it unimportant, and Sasuke was about to enter the dojo when Kakashi spoke up again.

"I saw the difference in your movements. Earlier today you were heavier, you held your shoulders straight up and barely relaxed your posture. Just now, you were moving fluidly, your stance was lighter, movements more flexible. That's how I knew you were hiding weights under that scarf of yours."

Sasuke paused.

He too had noticed the change in Kai's movements. At the time, he'd merely taken in the information, not knowing the reason for the change and being too caught up in the fight to think on it. Now Sasuke realized his teacher was several steps ahead of him. It annoyed Sasuke that he hadn't thought of the possibility of Kai carrying weights first. After all, hadn't he encountered much the same in Rock Lee back in Konohagakure?

Debating with himself for a moment, Sasuke resolved that it wouldn't hurt to listen in on the discussion. It was information on their clients, so it could be useful later. It wasn't like he was going to participate in the conversation or anything.

Turning around, Sasuke leaned his back on the sliding doorframe as he faced the other two males standing on the veranda. Kai's arms were folded, his eyes resting on Kakashi with that ever present undercurrent of discontent. For his part, Kakashi had leaned up against one of the long poles supporting the sloping ceiling as his hands rested lightly on the wooden railing. Sasuke could still see the tail end of the dart gun his teacher had stuck into the back of his utility belt. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the gleaming black metal.

"So how much?" Kakashi, as opposed to acting demanding, actually seemed to be attempting casual conversation with Kai.

One of Kai's shoulders lifted in a slow shrug. "Enough" was the simple answer.

"And where else do you carry it?"

Grey bangs slipped to the side as Kai's head tilted. If the youth was surprised at Kakashi's perceptiveness it didn't show. Instead, Kai hands unfolded. Holding one arm before his chest, Kai showed off the line of silver that circled his wrist.

"Wrists?" Kakashi looked downward. "And ankles as well, I suppose."

Wind passed through the trees, rustling leaves and bringing the sent of dew and grass to Sasuke's nose. Getting information out of Kai was like pulling teeth. Sasuke felt the familiar irritation chafing his nerves and fought to master the emotion before throwing it aside.

Kakashi shifted. "Well… The wrists and ankles are good for building up strength." Sasuke's eyebrow rose. It sounded almost like his teacher was… lecturing.

"But why would you bother with the neck? There are better ways to build upper-body strength… Unless…" Kakashi's eye gained a crafty gleam. "Perhaps it is to prevent your scarf from tightening unnecessarily?" Even with the mask covering half his face it was obvious that Kakashi was grinning. Sasuke—realizing the jest with a flash of insight—stifled a mocking snort as Kai glared at the two ninja.

Passing smoothly by Sasuke, Kakashi opened the door to the dojo. "Just don't go around attacking innocent fangirls." And with that, Kakashi entered the house, leaving Sasuke and Kai alone on the deck.

'_Innocent fanigrls?'_ Sasuke remembered well how those 'innocents' would stalk him through the city, once going so far as attempting to break into his house. _'If anything, Kai'd be needing the weight for self-defence.'_ Sasuke scoffed, remembering the story Tyson had told of the over-enthused fangirl who had nearly strangled Kai with his own scarf.

Hearing an identical, equally cynical, scoff at his left, Sasuke turned his head and met Kai's gaze. For once, Sasuke's expression wasn't darkened by anger or mistrust and the corner of Kai's lips had quirked with a shadow of intrigue as the two boys somehow came to the same silent conclusion.

"Heh." Kai closed his eyes, letting out his breath in a quiet chuckle.

And because it was too weird to think that he and Kai could have possibly just _agreed _on something, Sasuke awkwardly studied Kai for one last second before turning on his heel and entering the dojo.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

_Beep!_

_Beep!_

_Beep!_

_Bee—_SLAM

Hilary groaned, twisting to the side in her bedroll. She cracked one eye open, just long enough to make sure her alarm clock was still alive, then sighed and flopped onto her back.

Letting out a jaw-cracking yawn, she tried to remember exactly why she'd agreed to wake up so freakishly early. Then, suddenly recalling the sheer number of people she had to beat to the washroom, she resigned herself to the sleep-deprivation and hauled herself to her feet with a groan.

Vision still fuzzy, hair tousled and a bitter taste in her mouth, Hilary grabbed the clothes and toiletries she'd set out for herself the night before. Stumbling over the lumpy forms of her still-unconscious companions, Hilary shuffled out into the hallway and toward the bathroom, all the while trying to get a feel of the damage to her hair with her free hand. Stopping before the door, Hilary grasped the handle and tugged.

Wood rattled as the door stubbornly refused to open. Frowning confusedly—who could have beaten her to the shower?—Hilary rapped smartly on the heavy panelling.

There was no answer, so Hilary tried again.

Still no answer.

Huffing in annoyance, Hilary folded her arms, hugging her pile of clothes to her chest. She considered walking back to the main dojo, maybe have a look around and see who was missing, but then realized that she didn't really care to walk all the way back. So instead, she leaned her back on the wall next to the door and waited. She figured that it was most probably Sakura in there anyway.

It only took a couple of minutes before the sound of a latch being undone came and the door slid open. Still, Hilary was annoyed at having been kept waiting and drew herself up to face who she'd assumed to be Sakura.

"Hey! How come you didn't answer when I knock—whoa!" Realizing that Sakura was certainly not the dark haired, paled face, _bare-chested boy _standing before her, Hilary took a few steps backward.

"Ah, Sasuke!" Hilary exclaimed, blinking in surprise and now very much awake. "I didn't—didn't know it was you…" The teen in front of her wore only a pair of beige shorts as he rubbed a towel through his wet locks. He didn't say anything, preferring instead to raise one eyebrow expectantly.

Hilary realized her face was getting hot and she struggled for something to say. "Well… I… Are you done in there?" She nodded toward the bathroom.

Sasuke stared at her blankly for a moment before giving a curt nod. Breaking off the eye contact, he was about to step around her when Hilary noticed something red on his arm.

"Hey, what's that?" Pointing and moving closer in concern, Hilary frowned at what appeared to be scratches—claw marks?—on Sasuke's upper arm.

Having taken her eyes off Sasuke's face, she didn't notice his eyes darken dangerously as he spotted what she was looking at and she was ill prepared when he tore his arm away with a snarled "Get off!"

Hilary gasped and watched as the teen stormed off down the hall leaving her wondering just what on earth she'd done to tick him off so badly. Shaking her head incredulously, Hilary just tsked at the ninja's violent temper and headed into the bathroom.

"Honestly, he's worse than Kai." Hilary's voice was thoughtful though. The cut itself hadn't been a big deal, so why had Sasuke reacted so bizarrely? Also—Hilary continued to ponder as she washed her face—as Sasuke had passed her, Hilary had gotten a closer look at that distinctive tattoo on the juncture of his neck—was it just her or did that tattoo seem to be bulging out from Sasuke's skin?

'_Eww…'_ Shivering off the creepy-crawly feeling that thought gave her, Hilary decided to put the incident behind her and place all her energy into forcing some order into the frizzing, wavy mess that was her hair.

Barely two minutes later, she'd given the entire thing up as a lost cause and dunked her head under the streaming showerhead.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Creeping across the room in his PJs and socks, Max grinned to himself as he knelt and gently shook Kenny awake.

"Huh? Wha—?" Came the sleepy mumble from under Kenny's blankets.

"Shh!" Max immediately hushed the younger boy; then continued in a whispered undertone, "C'mon, quick, get up!" Max beckoned excitedly with both hands and was rewarded when a mop of mousy brown hair and a pair of squinting eyes peeked out from under the covers. "Come on!" Crouching down, Max shook Kenny's shoulders, much to the other teen's disgruntlement.

"Wha…Whassup?" Reaching for his glasses, Kenny raised himself on his elbows and peered up at Max. "And why are we whispering?"

"Everyone else is up, 'cept Tyson." Here Max's grin broadened and his eyes twinkled with mischief. "And I got the perfect remedy for that."

An answering grin spread across Kenny's face. "Okay… But again: why are we whispering?"

Max laughed, letting his head fall to the side. Both boys knew full well that no amount of noise would ever wake Tyson from his beauty sleep. "I dunno, but it's more fun this way!"

A few minutes later, Rei was greeted with a very odd sight as he walked down the hallway.

"Uhh, Kenny, can you lift your side a little higher? I think his feet are almost dragging on the ground…" Max puffed as he hefted the bundle of blankets in his hands. Leading from the blond's hands to Kenny's, the blankets seemed to sag and stretch in the middle, almost as though something was being held inside them. Rei leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he beheld his younger teammates' antics.

Kenny was indeed having trouble carrying his side of the burden; he staggered under the weight, trying hard to pull up the blankets that pulled down to the ground. "I'm trying!" Kenny panted. "Man, you'd think between the two of us we'd be able to carry… Oh, hi Rei!" Kenny raised his eyebrows and greeted Rei pleasantly and Max turned to give him a large smile.

"What's up?" Max asked, as though it was completely normal for them to be carrying blankets containing oddly human-shaped lumps through the halls.

Rei took a bite out of the apple he'd brought from the kitchen and eyed the much-too-innocent faces of Max and Kenny. "Any reason in particular you guys decided on taking morning walks with a bedroll?" One eyebrow arched. "And did I hear you say _'feet'_?"

"Ehe…hehehe…" Max's eyes wrinkled and he gave a sheepish grin, not unlike that of a child caught with one hand in the cookie jar. "Um, y'see…"

A loud snore from the blankets interrupted whatever Max had been gearing up to say.

Rei's eyes widened, he stared at the roll of covers. "Is Tyson in there?"

"Yep," Kenny chirped, seeming to have completely forgotten about how heavy the bundle in his hands was. "We're taking him for a little walk." Here, a very significant evil grin passed between the two younger boys.

"Huh…" Somehow, Rei felt he should be more shocked about this than he was. But the only thing he could think of to say was, "Can he breath in there?"

A loud, gaspy snort from the thick bundle gave the teen all the answer he would need.

"We're planning on waking him up. Wanna watch?" Max looked entirely too eager and it was making Rei curious.

"Sure, why not?" Shrugging, Rei tagged along.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were eating breakfast in the kitchen when the screams reached their ears. Jumping to their feet, the ninja immediately scoured the area for danger and were about to move toward the source of the noise when Max came sprinting full tilt in to the room, socks skidding wildly on the wooden floors as he tried to turn before slamming into the table.

"What's going on?" Sakura was still looking for a threat. Naruto however, just blinked, comprehension slowly dawning as he took in the all-too-familiar guilty look on Max's flushed face.

"Can't talk! Gotta run! Or Tyson'll catch me!" Max flashed them both a bright smile before speeding off to the other side of the room. Turning to run into the adjoining hall, Max slipped, caught himself with one hand and had disappeared before Sakura or Naruto could say another word.

"What on Earth?" Sakura, seeing Naruto's small grin, turned to the teen as though he had all the answers. The blond ninja was spared having to answer by a second person barrelling headfirst into the room.

"WHERE. IS. HE?!" Tyson, sopping wet and barefoot, heaved and panted as he flicked his head back and forth, surveying the room wildly. Locks of wet hair were plastered over his face, causing a spray of water to arc out as Tyson whipped his head back around. Growling, Tyson pawed at the wall of hair, pulling it out of his eyes so he could properly peer around the room. Spotting Sakura and Naruto nearby, Tyson zoned in on them. "Where's Max?" His tone was low, eerily calm.

"Tyson…" Sakura's mouth was still open. "What happened to you? You're dripping all over the ground."

Tyson looked down. Winced. Indeed, water was pooling where his soaked pyjama bottoms touched the floor, and smaller puddles surrounded him, tracing step-by-step his rampage through the house.

"Gurgh…." A deep groan emitted from the back of Tyson's throat as he squinted guiltily at all the puddles. "Gramps is gonna kill me…"

Just then, there came a tapping from one of the windows and all three teens glanced up. Grinning cheekily, Max stood right on the other side of the glass pane, waving cheerily at Tyson.

Colour rose in Tyson's face, all thoughts of reconciliation forgotten. Stomping his foot, he pointed straight at the blond. "MAX! Three words: Winter. School. Play. Uh huh? Uh HUH? Now who's running?"

Tyson's words made no sense to Naruto and Sakura; but Max, obviously hearing Tyson, squeaked in dismay and ran out of sight.

"OH NO! You're not getting away that easy!" And Tyson was off like a bullet.

"Last year. Japanese class." The two ninja turned at the new voice, looking down at Kenny with befuddled expressions. "Tyson and Max were cast in the school play… Only Max didn't get such a… heh… _manly_ role." Kenny grinned as understanding alighted on Naruto and Sakura's faces. "Let's just say Tyson still has some hard evidence stashed away." Suddenly, a streak of blue and black passed by the window, all three teens hear the shouts and cries of shock coming from the backyard.

"C'mon," Kenny beckoned Naruto and Sakura to follow him. "Let's go see what Tyson's gonna do to Max."

Naruto laughed and followed the smaller boy happily. Sakura rolled her eyes, but she too tailed after them.

It was a bright sunny morning and Tyson's triumphant laughter rung through the air as Kenny, Naruto and Sakura walked around the side of the dojo. Here, there was a small, traditional garden enclosed by a short fence, creating a quiet little corner. Tall cherry blossoms were shedding the last of their flowers over fat bushes springing from the ground, and a quaint stone path traced around a crystal clear pond.

It wasn't until they came closer that Naruto and Sakura realized the bushes had been trampled on one side of the pond, and patches of grass were muddy and wet with too much water for morning dew. A crumpled pile of bed sheets, soaked through, had been abandoned near the pond: haphazardly tangled in a bush.

"HAHA!" Tyson had Max in a tight headlock and was rubbing his knuckles over the blond's head vigorously. "That'll teach YOU to toss me into the pond while I'm sleeping!"

"Ahh—leggo, leggo, leggo!" Max cried, struggling in vain.

"Max dropped him in the pond?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Correction. We did. And Rei supervised." Kenny's evil grin stretched across his face as he nodded at someone behind the two ninja and Naruto and Sakura turned to see Rei standing near the wall of the dojo.

"Hey now," The elder teen said defensively, seeing the ninja's raised eyebrows. "You try getting Tyson up at any decent hour and then you can judge."

At that moment, another figure was making their way around the house. Attracted by all the bellows and screams, Hilary had decided to check out what all the drama was. Coming across the group, her eyes widened, but quickly narrowed thoughtfully as she took stock of the situation. A crafty smirk slowly made it's way across her face. "Hey Chief," She tapped Kenny on the shoulder the jerked her head at Tyson "Think we can take him?"

Kenny didn't need any further encouragement.

Naruto and Sakura just watched in amazement as Hilary and Kenny successfully snuck around Tyson before exchanging a quick nod and jumping the oblivious boy with loud war cries. Tyson was successfully outnumbered and Kenny pinned him to the ground while Hilary celebrated their success like a triumphant wrestler: placing her foot on Tyson's back and raising her hands to sky, encouraging the applause of an imaginary crowd.

"Oh yeah! Who's the best? Go me! Go me!" Kenny sent Hilary a look and she laughed. "Oh, sorry Ken—I mean—go us! Go us!" Max, rubbing his head gingerly but still smiling, gave the two his thanks.

"Ahhh… nooooo…. I will not be defeated!" Tyson raised his head, spotted the two ninja bystanders. "Naruto! Dude! Help a bud out here!"

The blond ninja, who'd been finding an odd contentment in watching the obviously close friends play, was surprised at having been singled out. Looking up, he glanced first at Rei—wondering why Tyson hadn't called out to him instead—then at Sakura—whose stilted expression held the aloofness of someone watching toddlers play.

Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it, wondering why he was feeling so indecisive. He wanted to join in; after all, he'd played his fair share of pranks in Konoha.

But those pranks had been executed without any help. Every time he did something foolish or mischievous he'd done it on his own. Never had Naruto acted so carefree… care_less_… with friends. He wanted to, but was still being held back by something.

Looking at Sakura and Rei—both of whom appeared to be perfectly happy standing on the sidelines—Naruto couldn't help but wonder if they felt even the slightest the desire to just let loose and have fun.

"Okay, okay, that's enough now guys." Rei called. Tyson had managed to roll to the side, causing Hilary to nearly fall over and a recovered Max was looking to enter the fray again.

"Cut it out." Rei said. "Tyson you better get ready before Kai comes looking for you."

That threat was pretty significant in its severity and Tyson gave a quiet 'meep' before staggering to his feet and running back indoors.

"Max, Kenny, you too." Rei eyed the two boys who were grinning sheepishly as they fidgeted in their now grimy bedclothes.

"Alright, alright." The boys said in unison, heading in.

Somewhere along the line, Rei seemed to have remembered that he didn't like the ninja too much and he merely favoured them a short glance before turning to join his team.

Sakura let out a quick breath of air through her nose, brushing her hair to the side. "They're so childish, aren't they? I feel like we've been hired to be babysitters."

Naruto didn't disagree with her, but he didn't agree either. His eyes were a little regretful as he gazed at the remnants of the Bladebreakers' play.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

Arriving at the airport by taxicabs, the young genin ninja once again found themselves gawking as they took in the sheer size of the building and the number of people swarming the area. It certainly didn't help that the general public had realized the famous 'Bladebreakers' were in their midst and were now screaming and calling out to them, waving their hands wildly and trying to crush up to the group as they asked for autographs.

Kakashi, realizing that it was time for his team to earn their pay, told his students to form a circle around the Bladebreakers.

For a while, the ninja's presence, combined with chakra auras and dangerous glares, seemed to be discouraging the fans. But then a few girls screamed out a wild _'MARRY ME REI!'_ and like a tsunami the people began surging forward.

Choas reigned for only a few moments before the airport security stepped in. Working with the ninja, they managed to push back the throng of people and create a makeshift belted walkway for the group to pass through. Some overenthusiastic fans occasionally tried to duck under the belts but these incidents were quickly and efficiently dealt with by the ninja who—after restraining at least two dozen people—were trying very hard not to cause a media scandal by simply knocking the fans unconscious.

As it were, Team 7 got their first taste of just how wildly popular the Bladebreakers were.

Flinching instinctively away from the noise and bustle, Sasuke found himself standing closer to Kakashi as he drew his shoulders up and scowled at the crowds. Sakura was experiencing the same feeling, though with less intensity and paranoia. Konoha was a quiet village; the sheer noisiness of this place was a little painful to take in all at once.

Naruto however, seemed to be the epitome of youthful exuberance as he took in the new site with open arms, often having to be called back by Kakashi when he ran too far. The genin was throwing a hundred questions a second at Tyson, who, for his part seemed to be bearing the ninja's enthusiasm exceptionally well: answering each question with surprising patience.

Sakura was sticking closer to Hilary, who intuitively perceived the source pink-haired girl's discomfort.

"You get used to the noise." Hilary said encouragingly.

"But…" Sakura's mind was preoccupied with something slightly more pressing. "While we were driving up, we saw that plane taking off… It had no chakra, nothing to keep it up in the air!"

Hilary just grinned reassuringly, then waved Kenny over as to help her explain the physics of flight.

Acting as the human spearhead of the group, Kai cut an efficient path through the airport. Rei walked at his side, occasionally picking up the threads of conversation that hung between them. The group managed to get their tickets without any difficulty, but when they were about to hand in their baggage, Kai raised a hand, halting the desk clerk mid-sentence.

From his position behind Tyson and Naruto, Kakashi couldn't tell exactly what was being said, but the name 'Dickenson' was tossed around a few times and Kai made the occasional, idle gesture over his shoulder, motioning to the ninja. The clerk was frowning though, tapping away on her computer and shaking her head repeatedly. Kai made a quiet statement and the woman looked up in shock before quailing under the teen's stare. Kakashi moved closer and heard the woman say it was 'Out of her hands.'

"You can't be serious." Rei spoke up, laying a hand on the desk. "I know the airport security has increased but surely you can make an exception!"

"I am sorry sir—"

"They'll never make it past the metal detectors." Rei gestured brusquely at the ninja. "Hell, _we _probably won't make it past the metal detectors. This is an international tournament we are attending; and the flight leaves in half an hour. There must be some provisions set up for us."

The desk clerk was obviously starting to get flustered, whether it was because of Kai's continuing glare, Rei's assertiveness, the ever-growing crowd or even the very open admission that four out of the ten people in the group were quite possibly packed with enough hardware to hijack the entire airport. "I-I am very sorry sirs, but you must understand—"

"I will take it from here, Ms. Sato."

"Ah!" The woman looked up at a dark, grave-faced man who had suddenly appeared at her shoulder. "Mr. Burak!" Kakashi noted immediately that the woman's demeanour turned deferential as she gave a quick bow of her head and looked at the new man with intimidation in her eyes.

Mr. Burak gazed down at the woman severely, looking through her rather than at her, then turned his attention to group of beybladers and ninja.

"Please follow me." He said stolidly, words tinged with an indecipherable accent. "I have arranged your flight accommodations according to Mr. Dickenson's wishes."

Kakashi watched the man closely, feeling his senses prickle warningly. No one else in the group looked twice at the man however, so when Mr. Burak bowed and led the group around the counter and through a set of locked double doors, Kakashi followed passively with everyone else. Mr. Burak moved quickly and efficiently and soon the group had deposited their luggage on a trolley and were walking through an empty section of the airport, away from the prying eyes of both the press and the adoring fans.

"So… what is the meaning of this?" Kakashi sidled up to Kai and Rei, pleased when the latter didn't slide away to join the rest of the group—though he didn't bring attention to it. "It can't just be to avoid security."

Rei glanced up at the ninja, but hesitated before saying anything.

"You're right." Kai spoke quietly with a short nod, all the while keeping his gaze straight ahead. "Between security and our celebrity status, we wouldn't survive commercial flight. Instead, Mr. Dickenson has set up a private jet for us." And Rei turned a surprised look on Kai, amazed that the elder teen had given the information so freely… and was that a trace of humour in Kai's words?

"I see." Kakashi said.

Mr. Burak left the group in a spacious waiting room and Kakashi turned to look out the grand windows spanning one wall, taking his first long look at the aircraft that would carry them to Russia.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Thirteen-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

* * *

I really didn't intend to take so long to update, but I hope this chapter made up for it :D

**hey: **Glad you're liking it ^.^ Hope you enjoyed this update (sorry for he delay in getting it up! :D)

**3: **¡Gracias! I hope you liked this chapter!

**shootingstars9000:** Yay! The last chapter was a favourite of mine too ^_^. It's just too much fun writing Kai fight scenes :3 I didn't manage to get this update up very quickly (sheepish grin) but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

**SouthernDragon**: Hey! Yes! I'm glad you liked the structure of the last chapter, I wanted to let the reader 'in on' what Kai and the Abbey guards were saying, while also conveying Kakashi's and Sasuke's confusion and perceptions. I wondered if it was confusing, so it's good to hear that it was fine :D Anyway! Here's the next update!

**WolfSong:** Yes of course! All reviewers of the last chapter get cake (*hands out slices*). It's brilliant cyber-cake; guaranteed never to turn stale _and_ it converts to your favourite type! ^_^ Last chapter's fight scene was awesome fun to write, I'm glad you liked!

**Sciura:** Hehehe, I'm SO glad you had as much fun reading that last chapter as I had writing it! XDD Ok yeah, I admit, Rei waking up and following the group would've been pretty cool. ^.^ Kai and Sasuke probably wouldn't have had their little 'heart to heart' though… Rei would've gotten all protective X3

**someone:** Heya! ^_^ Wow, you know you're really awesome for reviewing both my fics (huge grin). And I'm really glad you're enjoying them! You're absolutely right: this fic _is _only just beginning. I have that same fear as you do about the endings of stories: they usually fizzle out and die, causing all sorts of disappointment for the reader. Writing endings is an art, I think ^.^; All I can say is I have both this fic and 'Sooryavansham' planned. All I can do is write and hope that I am not boring or disappointing my readers :) Oh and it's never too late for birthday wishes…. Or cake! (*hands you some*). Cheers! :D

**DemonLemon:** Hiya! Thanks for reviewing! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story ^.^ The update wasn't all that quick (sheepish grin) but I hope you liked it!

**Elow:** Wow, really? ^_^ That's so awesome that you're liking this then! 'Specially if you don't normally enjoy crossovers. I admit I've got a soft spot for crossovers (naw, _really?!_ That's a _completely_ unexpected revelation, innit?! XDD) but I think I can understand why you wouldn't like them. (Is it because they're usually too… silly, or biased towards one fandom? I usually take issue with fanfics that consciously change the characters' personalities (or love interests) to suit the convenience of the plot… or lack thereof…) Anyway! Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this update!

Thank you, thank you to _every one_ of you brilliant reviewers; I must have read each review at least 3 times :3: **The Swordsman, lol. laughing., CleverPhoenix, beybladeingninjaprincess, Phoenix Firestorm, Kai Aquila, dragonlilly1993, Arkadyevna, hey, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, beckylovesgigs, Konerok Hadorak, SoulNinjas, terracannon876, blueXXphoenix, Nameless Little Girl, Jadej.j, stephvamp25, StarShinobi, ShadowWolfDagger, 3, shootingstars9000, wolf's lament, dreamseeker09, bladz-liska, Miako6, Tears of Eternal Darkness, Thunder Guardian, BloodRedViolet, Darakna, Agetada, Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, DANHK, Dani Hiwatari, SouthernDragon, NEVERMORE DARKNESS, ShadowBlade7330, alanacrystal, Mashy-Gaara4life, 99DenmonChick99, not the usual baka, Haro kzoids, permanent addiction, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, WolfSong, FariyDyris, Sciura, someone, dekoolsky, sasukoi, khooxp, DemonLemon, demonika, FallenHope-Angel, BabyGemi, Rae-Wolf-Demon, Silent Pandemonium, chibi heishi, ninja2k, Kai-Chan94, Elow, loves-emo-guys-with-hair, ****Golden Feather Edward **and **MagicalKaiLover18****!**

**Adio!**


	14. SABOTAGE! The Shocking Plot Twist!

_**HIYA!**_

**Author's Blurb: **Goodness *headdesk* I'm sorry about the wait… I don't suppose any of you guys have taken the LSAT?... Ahh… I hate standardized testing… Actually, I'm not too fond of any kind of testing, really. XD ANYWAY! Hope the longer-than-usual chapter makes up for the wait… Ooo, some of you are going to _kill_ me… :3

* * *

**KEY: **

'… _Blah, Blah…' _denote thoughts

_**I**_**I**_ …(italics)… __**I**_**I **denote a change in language

_**I**_**I**_**…(bold)…**_ _**I**_**I **denote a second change in language

* * *

Enjoy!

* * *

_**:-Sharingan Eyes-: **_

_A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay_

**

* * *

**

_**Disclaimer:**_ Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'_**,.-Chapter Fourteen-.,'**_

_SABOTAGE! The Shocking Plot Twist!_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

Striding up the steps and into the aircraft, Sasuke merely glanced dismissively at the overly cheerful pilot greeting him before peering into the depths of the metal contraption. An airplane: designed by civilians as a method of transportation. Flight: with neither chakra nor flexible wings. Sasuke would be lying if he said he was not uneasy.

Nonetheless, he did not falter or lag behind like Naruto nor did he express fear like Sakura. Sasuke did not know much about the world that existed outside ninja and chakra; knowledge like that hadn't seemed pertinent to his ultimate goal. However, his family had been nothing if not informed. In all the arrogance and self-importance that befit an Uchiha, Sasuke supposed that it was in their very blood to continually thirst for knowledge.

As such, the Uchiha library contained many scrolls detailing the processes and technologies that existed in the world of light—one not hidden and secreted away in shadow. As a child, Sasuke had been obliged to learn about this world—a place so divorced from his own. But it had been a long time since he'd touched those scrolls.

One of the things he did remember though, was the fundamentals of flight: airplanes and their function.

And that knowledge alone was probably the only thing keeping him standing confident on this tubular deathtrap.

Sasuke eyed the narrow, padded blue seats, conveniently placed in couples. There were enough for everyone but they would all have to pair up. Having been told that the flight would span several hours, the young genin was inclined to choose his partner with care.

On one side, Sakura gestured at him excitedly and he quickly turned his head, letting Naruto head toward the girl instead. Sasuke—as he carefully turned a blind eye to the empty seat next to Kai—was vaguely aware of the pink-haired kunoichi spurning Naruto's attempt to sit near her. The blond was then pulled over by Tyson, letting Max take the seat near Sakura. Kenny and Hilary were sitting together and Sasuke looked back to see Kakashi lowering himself into the seat adjacent Kai—who didn't exactly object, ignoring the elder ninja completely.

Sasuke glanced around. Everyone had effectively paired up, the only option left to him was…

Rei's amber eyes narrowed as he locked gazes with the dark-haired ninja.

Sasuke seated himself warily. The Chinese teen was not one to underestimate. Though not as insufferable as Kai, Sasuke knew Rei's heritage alone could cause only problems.

It didn't help that, whenever they were forced in each other's presence, Rei's hackles would rise. The elder teen's lip would curl and he would stop just short of hissing like an animal.

Though suspicious and cool to all the ninja, Rei had varying degrees of frostiness: he would converse lightly with Sakura, but seemed to avoid Kakashi. The teen would throw wary glances at Naruto and acted skittish around him—a reaction that the blond seemed oft to bring upon himself—as Sasuke had seen many people in Konoha act much the same way.

But Sasuke had yet to receive anything that wasn't outright disdain from Rei.

Not that he could blame him; Sasuke didn't like what the teen was all that much either.

Or what he suspected he was.

The pilot of the airplane announced their imminent departure over the intercom system and as the engines started up Sasuke couldn't help but tense. Ahead of him, he picked up the traces of Tyson and Naruto's conversation and focused on that.

"So… I saw what yours and Max's bitbeasts were; but what are the others?" Naruto quizzed, practically bouncing in his seat. Seated next to the window, the childlike ninja alternated between staring out at the runway and grinning at his new friend.

"Well… Rei's is a white tiger and Kai…" Tyson's voice turned devious. "Kai's bitbeast is a flaming turkey."

"Eh? A turkey? Really?" Naruto sounded surprised and Sasuke saw Tyson's head decline in a nod of affirmation. "Oh… I was expecting something… y'know, cooler… That sounds kinda lame…"

On his left, Sasuke was aware of Rei rolling his eyes.

"Hey… Where're the cute flight attendants?" Tyson wondered, twisting around in his seat to look around. "Aren't they supposed to be telling us to put on our seatbelts or something…?"

Sasuke stopped paying attention at this point, as the plane had started to move.

"Ooh… we're speeding up…!" Sakura's wobbly voice floated over from somewhere to his right.

And the plane kept speeding up. His eyes flicked unwittingly to the window and became fixed to the sight of buildings, grass and land blurring by. The aircraft was horribly noisy. He forced his teeth together, clenching his jaw against the urge to clap his hands around his ears as the plane seethed and whirred. So fast—everything began to rattle and shake and Sasuke thought the thing would surely explode. The plane then lurched upward—Sakura yelped in fright—Sasuke saw the wheels leave the ground. There was a tiny dip that made his stomach rise into his throat and Sasuke gripped the armrests tightly even as Naruto whooped in joy.

The plane kept rising and Sasuke simply stared through window, waiting with morbid fascination for the moment when gravity would finally take hold and drag them plummeting to their deaths. But no, the plane rose—up, up, right through the clouds and into a sea of cyan.

It was then that Sasuke saw that Rei was looking at him in amusement—oh, the teen's expression was blank, but he could _see _the mockery in those unnatural eyes—and Sasuke scowled, ripping his hands off the armrests and positioning them in a suitably nonchalant manner on his lap.

The plane eventually levelled out and, once he had proper control over his breathing and his heart had stopped beating a rapid percussion on his ribs, Sasuke put a voice behind the question that had been bothering him for a while now.

"You, you are Xun Shou Shi, aren't you?" It was the only possible explanation: the teen's unnatural eyes, his teeth and pointed ears, the way he _exuded_ an aura that set Sasuke's instincts to tingling—they all pointed to this one possibility.

Rei met Sasuke's eyes full on, surprising the ninja. Instead of being ashamed, or cowed—as one in his position _should—_Rei looked proud: actually dared to look _down _on Sasuke.

"And you," Rei returned. "Are a purebred." The tone he used was more akin to someone describing a dog.

Sasuke snarled, Rei smirked and the mutual dislike between them grew.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

The hours dragged by as the seconds and minutes were slowly eaten by an endless expanse of sky. What had once been new and exciting for Team 7 was gradually whittled down to nothing as the only sights visible through the window were sky, cloud cover and more sky.

Naruto had fallen asleep within the first hour. A few of the others looked about ready to join him when the door to the cockpit was abruptly thrust open with a jarring rattle.

"Hello and welcome!" The pilot, a tall, skinny man, who's grin was slightly too large and toothy for his face, snapped off an exaggerated bow before flashing them a jaunty thumbs up. "Today I will be your pilot, co-pilot, steward, flight attendant and overall source of entertainment on this flight. And oh, what a flight it will be!" With a nonchalant shove, the man slammed the door of the cockpit closed behind him and there came the sound of a lock clicking into place.

Almost in unison, a frown shadowed the faces of both ninja and Bladebreaker alike. Tyson nudged Naruto awake, Kakashi had risen halfway out of his seat and Kai was favouring the pilot with an intent stare, as though searching for something.

"Now, now, don't get up on my account!" The pilot waved a hand idly in Kakashi's direction.

"Now, there's something I've been meaning to tell you all," The pilot tilted his head to the side, shrouding his face with wavy, dirty blond hair. The man took a few steps forward, his long legs extending with feline grace until he was nearly level with Max and Sakura. Max, closest to the man, drew back in his chair when the pilot reached down and curled one spindly-fingered hand around Max's armrest. Sensing the movement, the pilot turned his too-wide grin on the blond teen, who felt a shiver race across his shoulders as gleaming hazel eyes focused on him in a way that was not wholly sane.

"It wasn't nice very nice of me, you see," The pilot gesticulated widely as he spoke and the grin did not fade even for a moment. "I was a little selfish, I wanted to see the great Bladebreakers and their little ninja consorts myself—ah, ah…" Kakashi had risen completely at the word 'ninja' but, faster than the eye could follow, the pilot had pulled a short sword seemingly from thin air and levelled it to a frightened Max's throat.

Hilary cried out involuntarily and Sasuke found himself digging his fingers into Rei's forearm, pinning it firmly to the armrest as he prevented the other from jumping to his feet. In the row ahead, Naruto was holding Tyson back in much the same way, though the genin looked like he wanted nothing more than to tackle the twisted man himself.

"What was I saying now?" The pilot spoke almost lazily, even as Max trembled, struggling to keep his chin up and to not swallow too hard. "You should learn to listen better… Or" The man's eyes flickered down to Sakura, who was covertly reaching for her weapons pouch. "… Do you need some encouragement?" Max let out a small, scared whimper as the edge of the sword pressed into his skin. There was a fierce stinging pain followed by the distinctly uncomfortable feeling of blood rolling down his neck to soak into his shirt. Sakura looked horrified as she raised her hands in surrender.

Everyone froze, barely breathing as the turbines on the airplane rotated loudly.

Kakashi was still standing and it was to him that the pilot turned his attention next. "Sit, sit…" Though his words were soft, the sinister light reflecting off the sword in the man's hand turned the idle words into an overt threat.

The jonin relented, easing himself slowly back onto his chair.

The pilot's grin widened at this obedience. "Good! Very good! You're house trained. How nice. Now, where was I…? Oh yes, I was very excited you see. It's not often you get to meet so many important people in the same place!" Here, the man's gaze swept past Kakashi, resting a moment on Kai before sweeping to the other side of the cabin and piercing Sasuke where he sat. The dark-haired genin's eyes widened fractionally, wondering what interest he could possibly be to this psychotic man. But then the moment was broken and the pilot was once again talking to Kakashi.

"Yes, but it's unfortunate, terribly unfortunate, that my employer does not intend for you to make your destination."

Someone gasped and it was then that they saw the pack strapped to the pilot's back.

"Oh and don't bother looking for more," The man said, gesturing with his chin to the parachute he was wearing. "This is the only one on the plane. But if you hurry, you might be able to change the course I set with a rather convenient range of mountains. And… with those words of wisdom—" In the span of time it took them to blink, the pilot had dropped his sword and leapt at the door.

Kakashi was dashing toward the man even before the sword hit the ground, forming symbols with his hands.

"Too slow!" The captain crowed. With a powerful wrench, he opened the emergency exit and let the loose door get swept outside. The howling, torrential winds came so suddenly that Kakashi had to stop and grab onto Naruto's seat to prevent himself from sliding forward. Even then, the elder ninja's feet began to slip. In a flash, Sasuke had reached out and grasped his teacher's arm tightly.

Turning to give a final thumbs up to his dumbstruck audience, the pilot laughed and took a flying leap off the plane.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

Hilary's shrill scream was the first thing to break the stunned silence that had fallen over the group. And, like a trigger being released, more voices were added in: talking, yelling and panicking in disorganized chaos. Tyson was fighting with his seatbelt and Kenny's face was so pale, Kakashi was certain he could have cut him with a kunai and not drawn blood. Meanwhile, Max was still shaking and Sakura was groping through her bag for bandages.

Kakashi pursed his lips around his teeth and let out a piercing whistle.

"EVERYONE BE QUIET!"

The indisputable command in Kakashi's voice forced the shocked cries and yelling to die down as everyone looked to the elder ninja. Wind screamed at his back as gusts of air rushing through the plane's open window whipped Kakashi's hair around, but he ignored it, instilling calm into his voice.

"That's good enough, Sasuke," Kakashi, bending at the knees, eased off the vice-like grip his student had on his arm. Sasuke slanted him a dubious look but dutifully let his hand slip away. This degree of concern, from his most reticent student no less, was touching; but Kakashi was forced to focus on the matter at hand.

Chakra blazed on the ground around his feet, keeping him from sliding or falling on the floor of the cabin. He stood strong against the wind for a moment before addressing the group.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you come with me to the front of the airplane. Naruto, I want to you stay here and maintain order." Any surprise at this last order was drowned by the gravity of the situation. "Everyone else: stay calm, stay seated and try not to panic. We will get this situation under control." And with that, Kakashi turned and headed into the cockpit. The lock barely caused the trained ninja pause as he formed a few hand seals and had the door sliding aside with a squeak. Sasuke and Sakura jumped up from their chairs, executed a brief hand sign to ignite the chakra at their feet, then pushed their way through the gales of wind to follow their teacher to the front.

A pregnant pause filled the cabin in the wake of the three ninja until finally Hilary couldn't stand it anymore.

"This is ridiculous!" She burst out over the rushing air. "We can't stay like this, all the air will be sucked out of the airplane! The pressure will kill us!"

Kenny moaned, clutching Dizzy to his chest and Tyson and Max's eyes widened.

Rei immediately undid his seatbelt. "If we can find something to cover that door—!"

"Oh no!" In a flash, Naruto had stood and rushed over to Rei, halting him from getting up. "Kakashi-sensei told me to make sure you guys stay put. So that's what I'm gonna do!" Turning determined eyes to the gaping hole in the side of the airplane, Naruto clenched a fist. "I got an idea!"

The ninja's hands shot up, index and middle fingers uncurling to form a vertical cross.

"_Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"_

_Shadow Clone Technique!_

The edges around Naruto's body blurred, then stretched, and the Bladebreakers stared two, four, eight, sixteen, then innumerable Narutos appeared in the cabin.

"Naruto! What are you doing! You'll crush us!" Hilary gasped as the number of blond ninja continued to grow.

"No, wait!" The Narutos cried as one. "Watch this!" And with identical grins they scurried over to the open door and began piling up in front of it. At first it didn't look like there would be enough Narutos to cover the entire door. But the ninja was undeterred and his clones kept stuffing the entrance until they had effectively formed a human plug in the side of the airplane. Wind hissed past the gaps between their bodies but there was no longer a rushing gale pulling the breath from their lungs. As the roar of the plane's engines was muffled so was the panic in the cabin.

"Wow, Naruto." Tyson breathed. "That power of yours is amazing…"

The real Naruto, standing in the aisle to Tyson's right, flushed happily and rubbed his nose. "Aw… well—"

Whatever the ninja was about to say was abruptly cut off as the plane dipped sharply, causing the boy to collapse ungracefully into a chair as the floor suddenly tilted. There was a startled cry and Max pointed to the door hatch. A number of clones had been sucked through the door, opening a large gap. More clones came to fill the space but it was obviously a temporary solution.

Naruto's face scrunched, as he wracked his brain for another plan, but when the next voice spoke up it wasn't his.

"Enough of this foolishness."

Kai, who had thus far been sitting quietly in the back of the cabin, rose to his feet with a decisive air. "Naruto, come here." He ordered.

The blond ninja jerked in confusion—it was, after all, the first time Kai had spoken to him directly. Regardless, he hopped to his feet and headed toward the elder teen.

The plane vibrated and rocked under their feet, so much so that Kai could barely keep his feet under him even while gripping two sides of the seat before him. With both hiss feet were glued to the floor with chakra, Naruto was at an advantage as walked with fair stability toward the back of the plane.

"Hn." Kai eyes swept appraisingly over Naruto when the younger teen was level with him. "I need you to get me to the cockpit." Kai gestured toward the door through which Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura had disappeared for qualification.

"But Kakashi-sen—" Naruto started.

"I know what your teacher said. That is irrelevant. And we are wasting time discussing it. You will get me to the front. Everyone else," Here Kai locked gazes with each of his teammates in turn. "Gather all your belongings, keep them close. Rei," Kai's attention snapped to the Chinese youth, whose eyes turned shrewd in response. "I need you to figure out why these air masks aren't coming down." Kai thumped the top of the cabin—the section which housed said air masks—twice with the side of a fist. "I don't care if you have to use Drigger to cut them loose, just get them down." Rei gave a curt nod of understanding.

Finally, Kai turned back to Naruto. "Now, let's go."

The blond ninja looked for a moment like he was going to disagree, but then, the plane bucked. Both he and Kai were thrown roughly into the seats in front of them, making the breath rush out of their lungs.

"You can help?" Naruto gasped, his gaze searching Kai's face for something.

"I can."

Naruto didn't necessarily trust Kai; he was too unknown for that. But what Naruto did trust was the bone-deep conviction he saw shining in the youth's eyes. They were the same eyes Kakashi had had when he'd protected Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura from Zabuza. And the same eyes Sasuke had worn when he'd told Itachi to leave Naruto alone. Sakura had gained that look when she'd delivered flowers to Sasuke's hospital bed. And Naruto had seen those eyes reflected in the mirror enough times to know what they meant.

He said nothing more, simply nodded grimly and gripped Kai's upper arm in a strong hold.

Together, the two teens staggered to the front of the cabin. They started out well, and it wasn't until they were about a foot away from the cockpit when things went wrong.

With an ominous clunking of metal, the right engine of the plane spluttered, squealed, then died. The airplane seemed to drop several hundred feet in the air, making everyone shake and grab their heads as the pressure made their ears throb. The floor tipped sharply as the plane leaned alarmingly. Kai's feet were knocked out from underneath him and he fell bodily against the floor with a heavy thud. Naruto cried out as Kai's arm was ripped from his grasp. The ninja fell against the wall, hitting his head, momentarily stunned.

At the same time, many of Naruto's clones had been pulled though the door. It was as though a giant mouth outside the plane was taking a deep inhale and Kai, with neither handhold nor purchase, was pulled helplessly toward the vast open air.

"KAI!" Tyson's seatbelt was hanging loose as he leaned as much forward as he dared, but his outstretched hand could not reach the sliding teen in time.

"KAI!" The Bladebreakers screamed as Kai's feet reached the edge of the plane. Thinking quickly, the dual-haired teen swept his legs apart, planting both feet on either side of the door.

Just as everyone was about to sigh in relief, the plane gave another heaving lurch and one of Kai's feet came loose and passed through the door. The Naruto clones piling at the door were completely useless; as soon as Kai touched them with any weight, they popped out of existence.

Hilary screamed shrilly as Kai tried to grip something, anything. But the floor was smooth and the walls were curved. The aircraft was spacious enough that he couldn't even reach one of the chairs. Then, just as Kai was about to be completely sucked out of the plane, a hand latched around his wrist, tightened, and pulled.

Hair whipping across his eyes, Kai glanced upward and saw Naruto's determined face as the younger teen pulled the elder backward. As soon as his feet could get purchase on the ground, Kai helped Naruto along by scrambling backward, pushing off his heels and using Naruto's grip to yank himself back to his feet.

Naruto's clones immediately filled the space which Kai had left, choking the door and covering the exit as best they could in order to staunch the wind flow. Naruto himself kept a strong hold on Kai, stabilizing him until the airplane tilted back enough so that Kai could keep his balance. Whatever Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were doing in the cockpit seemed to be working because they were no longer on a downward spiral through the air.

Kai's chest heaved as he gasped in long breaths, staring at empty space as he contemplated how close he'd just come to loosing his life.

"Hey. Hey." Naruto patted Kai's shoulder awkwardly. "You okay?"

Kai swallowed then looked up into the wide, frightened eyes of his teammates. He forced calm into his countenance, told his legs to quiver some other time.

"Yes." He stood straight, watching as, one by one, the Bladebreakers let out sighs of relief. "I'm fine. Come."

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

"I can't make sense of these things!" Sakura raised her hands helplessly—shook them over the sea of lights, switches, indicators and electronic screens before her. The flight desk was full of things that beeped, blinked and hummed and none of it held any meaning to the young genin.

Kakashi was seated in the pilot's chair, trying desperately to stop the plane from continuing its deadly nosedive. Sakura was seated in the co-pilot's chair but felt more useless than anything else as she could only stare uncomprehendingly at the panel and joystick before her, scared to touch anything should it cause them to explode or something.

Upon entering the cabin, the ninja had immediately spotted the metal pole the pilot had affixed to the steering keeping it pointed in one direction. After removing it, they had gained what seemed to be only minute control over the aircraft. It had been enough, though, to avoid a near collision with a shelf of rock. But then one of the engines had blown and the fuel gauge started whining loudly in time with a big red light blinking 'EMPTY'. Now it was all they could do to stop the plane from simply freefalling through the air.

In front of them, through the panel of curved glass that wrapped around half the cockpit, Sakura could see the sky: wind and clouds whipping past at an alarming speed. She couldn't see the ground yet, but if the dropping numbers on the altimeter were any indication, they did not have long to go before crashing headfirst into the ground became a very real possibility.

"Sasuke-kun! Do you know what to do?" Sakura appealed to the other ninja, gesturing at the flight desk.

Sasuke, though more knowledgeable than her about planes, was just as clueless in this situation. He shook his head. "Teleportation jutsu?" He suggested hesitantly.

"Impossible." Kakashi grunted as he pulled ineffectively at the winged joystick in front of him. "At this speed, we'd be lucky not to teleport ourselves six feet under the ground."

Sakura shook her head. "Then what—"

The door to the cockpit swung open with a bang and all three ninja turned to see Kai stagger into the room, gesture Naruto back out, then close the door behind himself.

"What—?" Sakura began, but was quickly cut off by Sasuke

"What are you doing? We're trying to save all our lives here. Don't get in the way."

Kai ignored Sasuke, pushing past the younger boy and moving to stand right behind Kakashi.

"Move." Was all the youth said.

Surprisingly the elder ninja ceded his position with little argument, getting up and moving out of the chair even as Kai slid in.

Sakura watched in amazement as Kai's eyes skimmed the sea of lights, dials and information intently, as though taking in the abstract information they had to offer. He then flicked some switches, reached up to fiddle with who-knew-what and then gently pulled back on the joystick. There was an immediate improvement in the plane's altitude. It didn't level out, but at least it was no longer continuing the breakneck nosedive it had been on before.

"Wow… have you flown before?" Sakura asked.

"…No." Kai answered at length, his eyes trained on the flight deck before him. "Simulations. I need Kenny."

"Huh?" Sakura raised her eyebrows and glanced behind herself at Sasuke, who looked as bemused as she felt.

"Get Kenny in here. Tell him to bring Dizzy. " Kai's words were clipped, to the point.

Kakashi nodded to Sasuke, who quickly exited the room to help bring in the younger boy. The jonin then turned back to Kai. "How safe of a landing can you get us?"

"Not much." Kai's teeth were gritted as he struggled to control the airplane. "Fuel's gone, I have no idea where we are. Best case scenario is we make the landing and don't end up splattered like bugs on a windshield."

Sakura winced at the analogy.

It was to that grim atmosphere that Sasuke came back in the cockpit, practically carrying a trembling and cringing Kenny with him.

"Kenny, I need to you to find me the manual landing commands for a Learjet 57"

"M-manual?" Kenny squeaked as he seated himself on a small pull out chair in the corner of the room.

"Automatic was fixed, had us locked on a beeline course with the centre of the Earth. I had to switch it completely to manual."

Kenny let out a high sound in the back of his throat, but still opened Dizzy and immediately began typing away.

Kakashi listened to this exchange quietly, and now chose to speak up again.

"Is there a small kitchenette or food supply in this thing?" He directed his question to the small brown-haired boy.

"U-um…" Kenny jerked his head up. "Y-yes. Back of the plane." The boy nodded distractedly then dove his head back down.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Good." Then, raising his voice he addressed his words to Kai. "I will trust you to handle this."

"Yes." Kai said.

"Sasuke, with me. We're going to keep everyone back there safe." With a tilt of his head, Kakashi indicated the passenger cabin. "Sakura, stay here."

Kenny's head jolted up. "T-tell everyone to keep their heads between their knees, and their hands over their heads. It's… to brace for the impact." He advised.

Kakashi nodded in confirmation and he and Sasuke were about to leave the room when Kai's voice halted them.

"Wait." Kai called. "Sasuke, stay behind."

The three ninja exchanged glances. Sakura looked confused, while Kakashi seemed to understand. The jonin put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and nodded. Much to the dark-haired boy's chagrin, Kakashi's visible eye seemed to be smiling at his obvious discomfort. Gesturing, Kakashi bade Sakura to come with him and they left the cockpit.

After a moment's hesitation, Sasuke turned back around and—upon Kai's request—took a seat in the co-pilot's chair that Sakura had vacated.

"You're good with your eyes," Kai stated rhetorically. "Watch what I do, then do the same on your side."

And Sasuke watched, Sharingan eyes blazing, as Kai completed a series of inputs on his side of the flight desk before pulling the joystick back and holding it. Then Sasuke copied the movements, pulling back on his own control stick.

"Good." Kai relinquished control of the plane to Sasuke. "You see the little indicator here?" Kai tapped on one of the many dials on the desk. "Just keep the speed in the green zone and we'll be fine." Next, Kai picked up a small handheld radio, pressed a button on the side and spoke into it.

"_**I**_**I**_ Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Flight 4139.__**I**_**I**" Sasuke's head nearly jerked around as Kai made the swift, unexpected shift from Japanese to English, but he quickly checked himself and kept his eyes trained on the expanse of blue and white ahead. _"__**I**_**I**_ Number is… __**I**_**I**" Kai leaned over to look at something. _"__**I**_**I**_ December One-One-Four-Eight-Nine-Three. We request assistance. The pilot is down, we are running out of fuel and right engine is gone. I repeat— __**I**_**I**" Sasuke listened as Kai went over the message twice more, but every time the teen paused for a response the only thing they heard was static and white noise. No one was responding.

"Kai!" Kenny suddenly exclaimed. "I found it! You need to pull back on the throttle and use something called a trim wheel… I don't know what that is, supposedly it near your knees or… on the… headliner?"

"It's fine Kenny, I know the terminology. Just feed me the directions slowly." Kai said and Sasuke, without needing to be told, understood that Kai wanted control back of the aircraft and yielded it back in a smooth transition, following the commands he'd memorized with his Sharingan.

Kenny read out the instructions and Kai took them in silently. When Kenny finished, Kai just nodded.

"Not a moment too soon." Kai said. Sasuke, wondering what the youth meant, followed his gaze and saw, with widening eyes, the vast expanse of brown-yellow Earth stretching out before them.

"It's time. Sasuke, take Kenny back. Tell everyone we'll be hitting ground in about five minutes." Kai said evenly.

Sasuke stared at the dual-haired boy for a moment, then turned and quickly ushered Kenny from the room.

Left on his own, Kai let out a puff of air then gripped the throttle and angled the plane as best he could. He let the wheels out, but it was dubious if they would do any good. The plane was rumbling, trembling as though in anticipation of what was coming. His teeth were rattling in his mouth, and his head pounded from the pressure and noise. Kai was so focused on the scene ahead that he didn't even react when the door behind him opened nor when a figure slid into the co-pilot's chair next to him. He did, however, speak up after a few moments.

"I thought I told you to go back."

"You told me to take the boy back." Sasuke answered smoothly. "Now I'm here to make sure you don't die in this whole thing."

If it had been any other moment, Sasuke's uncharacteristic concern for him may have instigated some cynical comment; but now was not the time for poking fun. "You can create a barrier with that chakra of yours?" Kai asked.

"Close enough." Sasuke said, then his eyes slipped shut and he seemed to be concentrating.

Kai said nothing more, just held his breath as the ground rushed up to meet them.

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

The airplane struck the ground with a bone jarring impact, skidding and sliding uncontrollably.

In the passenger cabin, everyone was huddled in their seats, fear driving them to curl themselves into as tiny balls as possible. Rei had gotten the pressure masks down, but they did little to stop the pounding in their heads. Cries of shock and distress were torn from their throats at the sudden impact. Then the squeal of grinding metal and sparks drowned out any further sounds they could make.

The plane shook and rattled to an unbearable degree, the metal groaned as though it pain—as though trying to keep itself from falling apart at the seams.

The plane's ruthless jerking was enough to completely knock the cloned Narutos out of the door hatch and the roaring sound of wind, metal and engines increased tenfold.

Just then, when everything seemed to reach an unbearable level, the plane miraculously began to slow down. The blowing winds started to die away, the horrible moan of metal bending unnaturally stopped and the despairing air around the group began to lift.

"We—We're slowing down!" Hilary cried in thankful disbelief.

The plane slowed. It skidded harshly on its belly until it came to a complete halt and there was utter silence.

Then, like a wave crashing on the rocks, the Bladebreakers, Naruto and Sakura began to cheer and clap.

"WOOHOO! WE MADE IT!" Tyson pumped a fist, high fived Naruto's hand.

"WE'RE ALIVE!" Max cheered.

"I can't believe he did it!" Rei gasped.

"I helped!" Kenny grinned, hugging Hilary who was teary-eyed.

Sakura beamed, the emotion clogged her throat, making her unable to speak.

The mask on Kakashi's lower face stretched as he smiled, but before he could say anything the door to the cockpit swung open with a resounding crack.

"**Everyone off the plane!**" Kai's barking order, coupled with the panic reflecting in his eyes, had the Bladebreakers stilling in cold shock. Kai's figure took up the entire doorway. He was breathing heavily and sweat glistened on his brow, but other than that he looked more or less okay. Sasuke was behind him, a little worse for wear after having protected both of them from the brunt of the landing, but also seemingly unhurt.

"What—?" Everyone sat there, stupefied. Only Kakashi had risen, responding instinctively to the urgent tone.

"Do you have ears? Get out now! The engine is on fire; we need to get out unless you all prefer to be consumed by a giant ball of exploding gas!"

That statement got an immediate reaction. Suddenly everyone was in motion: grabbing handbags, coats and everything else that was at hand, they all scrambled to the door, and were in the process of rushing through when Hilary gasped and turned.

"Our luggage!" She cried.

"No time. I'm sorry." Kakashi spoke gently but his grip was firm as he pulled Hilary out of the airplane.

They all staggered on the ground with sea legs, thankful at having real Earth under their feet, but unable to celebrate it with the impending danger. Max stumbled on the uneven footing, and was pulled up by Tyson. Together they looked back at the empty aircraft, lying bruised and prone on its belly like a beached whale, smoking from an angry fire lighting its tail.

One second the plane looked completely benign, with only a mild fire flickering around its form. And the next minute everyone was screaming and throwing themselves to the ground as the entire thing erupted in an ear-splitting explosion of fire, smoke and metal.

"WATCH OUT!" Sakura tackled a still-standing Rei as a piece of shrapnel flew at his head. They hit the ground with a dull thump, smoke blowing over their bodies and sparks raining down.

Everywhere else, the others had fallen flat to the ground, curling their arms over their head and coughing through the billowing black smoke.

"A-are you okay?" Sakura coughed.

Rei's eyes were wide as he stared at her, stared at how she had shielded him with her body.

"I… Yeah." He said softly.

The worst of the explosion was over. Fire blazed through the remains of the airplane and there was another, smaller explosion near the cockpit. Sparks and flame burned the sky but didn't reach far enough for the group to be diving for cover.

"My God…" Hilary picked her way over to Rei and Sakura, still gaping at the fire. "If we'd been two minutes slower…"

Rei looked at Hilary, noticed her wild hair and how she was covered practically from head to toe in soot. He figured he probably didn't look much better. The wreckage of their airplane was absolute: pieces of cushion were strewn everywhere, springs, metal melted into convulsive shapes; the fire was still eating away at the insides of the plane and had burnt the ground black in eerily perfect circle around the remains of the plane.

A loud cry of distress jarred Rei from his thoughts with a shock.

From all directions, everyone in the group came running toward Max, who stood frozen on a high hill looking at something in the horizon.

At first Rei looked to make sure everyone was all right. It seemed they were, but gradually everyone's gaze was being drawn to, and held by, whatever had Max so frightened.

Rei's head turned.

And he stared.

Sand.

Sand, as far the eye could see. Great dunes of grains of sifting golden sand stretched to the horizon blurring into a haze that melded with the pure blue sky. The plane lay in a valley between the dunes, fire having charred the sand a black-brown. This, along with shock had been what first prevented Rei from realizing his surroundings. Now that he saw, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

So much sand. In every direction, Rei turned: round and round.

Nothing. They were adrift in a sea of sand.

To Rei's ears the sound of the fire became suddenly muted. The noise of the wreckage seemed far away as all he could hear was the deathly silence of the sand: shifting, blowing in his ears.

"Where _are _we…?" Tyson's quiet speculation floated through the group's dumbfounded silence.

"North thirty-nine degrees, forty-five minutes; East eighty-five degrees. China."

Everyone looked at Kai, who had spoken the words in a dull monotone.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tyson puffed impatiently.

Sakura, however, understood immediately.

"Oh!" She nodded. "Latitude and longitude. But what do they correspond to? Where is that? China?"

While the group was watching Kai though, the red-eyed teen had turned his gaze on Rei. "Northwest _China_, Rei." He stressed.

They then all had the dubious pleasure of seeing Rei's face drain of all colour as the realization hit him.

"_Ai! Takelamagan Shamo!_" Rei cried and his legs gave out. Shock put him straight to his knees. "We're in the middle of the Taklimakan desert. The desert of death."

* * *

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

'**,.-End, Chapter Fourteen-.,'**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**

* * *

**

(*Poof* The author just made a convenient exit.)

**Dani Hiwatari: **Heya! Thanks! Hehe, they're not _quite _in Russia yet… X3

**Elow: **No problem! I love receiving reviews, so I always try to respond to everyone in turn. And it doesn't seem fair that only reviewers with FFdotnet accounts get replies. I know what you mean about the issues with crossovers; if I ever start to get too out of character feel free to give me a verbal smack on the head :D

**dekoolsky:** Thanks! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! It wasn't too evil, was it? X3

**suri**: Hiya! And thank you! It's AWESOME to hear that you think I'm portraying the Naruto characters well, since I have absolutely no experience writing them ^_^'. Kakashi's lines never fail to stress my brain XD I hope you enjoyed the update!

**Sciura:** Yay, more plot! I love the fluff chapters too, but now it's time to get down to business (*rubs hands together while chucking evilly* Oh yesss… this is gonna be FUN! Hehehe…)Though I don't think this was exactly the type of plot you were expecting XDD. What did you think?

**Sammy:** Hello! Thank you for reviewing! :D Yep, there aren't too many Naruto/Beyblade crossovers out there. Actually, it was never my plan to write this; I just had this weird dream one night of Sasuke and Naruto fighting while Kai and the Bladebreakers watched (Chapter 6… I think?) and I figured 'Wow, these characters are really alike; it'd be awesome if they met' and the rest is history XDD I hope you liked the chapter!

**Australian:** I updated! Sorry it took so long; but I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reviewing!

To my reviewers: **terracannon876, NEVERMORE DARKNESS****,**** ShadowBlade7330, Nameless Little Girl, SoulNinjas, dragonlilly1993, Tears of Eternal Darkness, Silent Pandemonium, Jadej.j, sasukoi, Hiira, Golden feathers Edward, Kuma the wolf alchemist, sasukechica, 99DenmonChick99, The Swordsman, Kai-Chan94, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, .Hitachiinx3, stephvamp25, ShadowWolfDagger, Dani Hiwatari, StrangeoneXD, alanacrystal, Elow, dekoolsky LightlessFallenAngel, wolf's lament, beckylovesgigs, BloodRedViolet, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, FlamingIce94, iHeartLead, Mashy-Gaara4life, JustBeYou, DANHK, beybladeingninjaprincess, Kumerai-sama, BedknobsAndLlamas, Haro kzoids, suri, xDarkLemonx, bladz-liska, Sciura, LJasmin, Sesshoumarus-Dark-Angel, loves-emo-guys-with-hair, FEARMEfrancis, StarShinobi, Ninja2k, reading-maniac, Sammy, Monkey and Cookee, Australian, James Hiwatari, ice cold wolf **and **MagicalKaiLover18!** Wow… thank you everyone!

(Last note: It's very likely that I will not be able to respond to reviews for this chapter. Right now it's going to be all I can do just to write, so the review responses will probably get suspended… I apologize in advance; I just wanted to mention this so that you guys don't think I'm ignoring you. I love reading your comments :).)

**Adio!**


End file.
